Rupee slips to record low again, ends at 91.99 per dollar on month-end demand

The rupee on Wednesday depreciated 31 paise to close at an all-time low of 91.99 against the US dollar, marking the second instance in less than a week that the currency has settled at its weakest-ever level, pressured by heightened month-end demand for the greenback and lingering geopolitical concerns, traders said.At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a firmer note at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, tracking a softer US dollar index and some optimism after a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe. However, it surrendered all gains as demand for dollars picked up toward month-end, sliding to an intraday low of 91.99.The domestic currency thus revisited its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99, a level it had earlier hit on January 23, when it also touched an all-time intraday low of 92 against the dollar. On Tuesday, the rupee had staged a brief recovery, gaining 22 paise to close at 91.68.Forex analysts said early support came from easing dollar strength and positive sentiment following the announcement that India and the European Union had concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Under the pact, several Indian sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear are expected to gain duty-free access to the EU market, while the bloc will get concessional access to India for products such as cars and wines. The agreement has been dubbed the “mother of all deals”, creating a market of nearly 2 billion people.Despite the positive cues, sustained dollar demand and geopolitical tensions weighed on the rupee through the session.The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.43 per cent to $67.28 per barrel in futures trade.Domestic equities provided some support, with the Sensex rising 487.20 points to 82,344.68 and the Nifty climbing 167.35 points to 25,342.75. Foreign institutional investors turned net buyers, purchasing shares worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.