The Indian rupee is expected to stay near its all-time low due to reinforced expectations of prolonged higher interest rates by the Federal Reserve following US inflation data.
It traded at 83.24 against the US dollar (22.68 against the dirham) on Friday, just shy of its record low of 83.29 (22.69). Ongoing foreign fund outflows and negative Asian equity markets are keeping the Indian currency under pressure.
The rise in U.S. Treasury yields has led to a decline in Asian currencies by 0.3 to 0.8 percent. The Reserve Bank of India is anticipated to intervene to prevent the rupee from hitting a new low, with deep-rooted expectations of dollar sales by the central bank. Market watchers are also monitoring potential pre-open US dollar sales from the RBI in the non-deliverable forward market.