INR: Indian rupee touches all-time low

The Indian rupee (INR) touched its weakest level on record on Monday, as persistent outflows from local stocks blunted the impact of a weaker dollar that helped lift the currency’s regional peers ahead of the US presidential election.

The Indian rupee closed at 84.1150 against the U.S. dollar after touching its all-time low of 84.1225 earlier in the session.

Benchmark Indian equity indexes, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50, fell more than 1% each on the day, their worst single-day performance in a month.

The benchmarks are down about 8% from their respective record highs hit in late September, hurt by the exodus of foreign investors amid a tepid earnings season.

Routine interventions by the Reserve Bank of India, such as on Monday, have helped the Indian rupee avoid sharp declines despite pressure from chunky outflows from local stocks and elevated US bond yields.

Line chart showing price movement in the U.S. dollar-Indian rupee currency pair
The Reserve Bank of India is well-equipped to deal with a rise in market volatility and pressure on the rupee if Republican candidate Donald Trump wins next week’s U.S. presidential election, two sources familiar with the bank’s thinking told Reuters last week.

The dollar index was down about 0.2% on Monday at 103.7 while most Asian currencies rose, with the offshore Chinese yuan rising to a near three-week high of 7.08.

The greenback was likely weighed down by unwinding of long positions in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election results.

“A Republican clean sweep can send the dollar higher, but probably by less than how much a Harris win could hit USD. The dollar might not rally at all if Trump wins but Democrats secure the (U.S. House of Representatives),” ING Bank said in a note.

Investors are also bracing for some uncertainty as the winner of the U.S. presidential race might not be known for days after voting ends.