Indian rupee weakened against US dollar on Thursday due to heavy selling in domestic equities following an anxiety among investors on rising corona virus cases across the country and also across the world. Since its inception, SARS-CoV-2, the novel corona virus responsible for causing COVID-19, has over 219,000 confirmed cases and has caused nearly 9,000 deaths across the world, as of March 18. According to Health Ministry, corona virus cases in India have touched 169. Further, sustained foreign fund outflows also dampened the investor sentiment. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 5,085.35 crore on Wednesday, exchange data showed. On the global front, the dollar surged against other Asian currencies as investors sold currencies, bonds and stocks in Asia to pile into the world’s reserve currency.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 75.01, weaker by 75 paise from its previous close of 74.26 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 75.0100 and 74.7000 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 74.03 and for Euro stood at 82.65 on March 17, 2020. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 69.50, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 90.53.
