Indian Rupee ends at new low on relentless FII sell-off, slower RBI intervention

•   The rupee settled just shy of the 79-mark against the US dollar on Wednesday as a fall in domestic equities amid unceasing overseas investment outflows soured sentiment towards the domestic currency, dealers said.
• The Indian currency settled at a fresh low of 78.97 versus the greenback, 0.3 per cent weaker than the previous close. In the course of trade, it hit a lifetime intraday low of 78.98 per US dollar. On Tuesday, the local currency had closed at 78.77.
• Since the war in Ukraine broke out in late February, the RBI has heavily expended its foreign exchange reserves in order to shield the rupee from a runaway depreciation. Since February 25, the headline foreign exchange reserves have declined by $40.94 billion. 
• The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty each settled 0.3 per cent lower than the previous close. Foreign institutional investors have net sold $6.3 billion worth of Indian stocks, so far, in June, National Securities Depository data showed.
• It is the biggest monthly FII outflow from India stocks since March 2020, the month during which the first lockdowns were imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19.
• The analyst said the rupee may weaken to 79.10 per dollar in the coming days. If the rupee were to strengthen over the near term, it would likely not rise beyond 78.38.