MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Indian rupee dropped to an all-time low on Wednesday, pressured by a resumption of the dollar’s uptrend after data pointed to a resilient U.S. economy, reinforcing bets that the Federal Reserve won’t be in a rush to cut policy rates.
The rupee fell to a record low of 85.8425 per U.S. dollar, down from 85.7125 in the previous session and inching past its prior all-time low of 85.84 hit on Monday.
The dollar index rose 0.3% after data on Tuesday pointed to a strong U.S. labour market and accelerated activity in the county’s service sector, which also sparked a rise in U.S. Treasury yields.
Asian currencies declined on Wednesday with the Indonesian rupiah down 0.4% and leading losses while the offshore Chinese yuan dipped to 7.34.
Dollar sales by state-run banks, likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, helped limit the rupee’s losses, traders said.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
