Rupee hits lifetime low of 72.18, drops 45 paise against USD

 Mumbai: The rupee on Monday slumped to a fresh record low of 72.18 by falling 45 paise against the US dollar on strong demand for the US currency from importers as the greenback strengthened against other currencies overseas on upbeat jobs data.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local currency opened at record low of 72.15 a dollar from its previous close of 71.73 and slipped to hit a fresh low of 72.18, down by 45 paise. It had breached its previous record low of 72.11 hit on September 6.

Forex dealers said besides strong demand for the American currency, buying by importers, mainly oil refiners in view of surging crude oil prices and capital outflows, weighed on the domestic currency.

Furthermore, the dollar strength against its rival currencies overseas amid fears of a possible escalation in the US-China trade conflict too put pressure on the rupee, they said.

The rupee on Friday staged a turnaround to close higher by 26 paise at 71.73 after heavy intervention by the Reserve Bank of India.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex dropped by 85.01 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 38,304.81 in opening trade.