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.
