Rupee ends considerably lower on new COVID variant concerns

26 Nov 2021 Evaluate

Indian rupee tumbled against dollar on Friday, on account of sustained dollar demand from importers and banks amid heavy selling in domestic equities amid fears of a new Covid variant. Scientists warned that it could be more infectious than Delta and even be more resistant to vaccines, dealing a blow to the global recovery. New variant (B.1.1529) has been detected in South Africa and scientists said that it ‘could be of real concern’. Market participants also remained cautious as a report by ICRA said that the Reserve Bank of India's revision of bad loan recognition and upgradation norms could bring a sharp spike in the non-performing assets of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in the country. On the global front; Sterling briefly dropped below $1.33 for the first time since December 2020 as the British currency found itself caught up in the dumping of riskier assets amid panic over a new COVID-19 variant described as the most concerning yet.

Finally, the rupee ended 74.89, weaker by 37 paise from its previous close of 74.52 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 74.92 and 74.58 respectively.

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