The currency completed its eighth weekly loss, the longest drop since December 2005, on signs the U.S. economy is headed for a recession that may damp global growth.
Rupee slumped to the lowest since 2003 as stocks slid, adding to speculation that investors will take money out of the nation. The currency completed its eighth weekly loss, the longest drop since December 2005, on signs the U.S. economy is headed for a recession that may damp global growth. The rupee also fell after India's central bank said the current-account deficit widened to a record in the three months to June 30.
The rupee fell 1% to 47.085 per dollar, the lowest since June 2003, at 5 p.m. to close, according to the reports. The currency lost 1.15% this week.
BSE Sensex, slip 4.05%, the most since July 15. The index has lost 38.3% this year after advancing 47% in 2007. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 2.1%, taking its loss this week to 7.7%, the most since Aug. 2007.
Overseas investors have sold Indian equities worth a record US$9.2bn more than they bought this year, the report stated.
India's current account shortfall, the amount by which imports exceed exports remittances and other income from abroad, has increased to US$10.7bn from a US$1.04bn gap in the previous quarter, according to the RBI data.
The rupee also declined on speculation that an inflation rate near the highest in 16 years is discouraging investors from buying local assets. Price increases erode returns from investments.