Rupee tanks to 72.42 per US Dollar in early trade

December 11, Mumbai: The Indian rupee plunged by a significant 110 paise on Tuesday in early trade as domestic equities saw heavy sell-off in crucial state election results and the unexpected resignation of Reserve Bank Governor Urjit Patel.

On Monday, the Indian rupee had tumbled 50 paise closing at 71.32 against the US dollar. Hence, at the Interbank Foreign Exchange, Rupee is showing a sharp plunge over its previous closing with a weak 72.42 value.

Earlier today, the Sensex opened over 500 points lower. It was trading 517.97 points, or 1.48 per cent, down at 34,441.75. In similar movement, the NSE Nifty dropped below the 10,400 mark, slumping 144.05 points, or 1.37 per cent, to 10,344.40.

Resignation of Urjit Patel saying “for personal reasons” was effective immediately, him being the first governor since 1990, to step down before his term ends. Besides, Patel's resignation, analysts attributed the fall in the domestic currency as a knee-jerk reaction to early state election trends that suggest a win for the opposition party in key states, ahead of general election of 2019.

Forex traders are worried that on the global trade war front, sharp sell-off in domestic equity market and rising crude prices are also weighing on the domestic currency.