Rupee hits 50 against USD

Mumbai, Oct. 24: The rupee tumbled to a historic low of 50.15 to the dollar before scuttling back above the psychological barrier on a day of skittish trading.The fall in the exchange rate coincided with the meltdown in the stock markets and the sharp appreciation of the US unit against other currencies.However, the Indian currency managed to erase some of its losses and ended the day at 49.96 per dollar after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened heavily by selling dollars. Some estimates said the central bank sold more than $3 billion today.Dealers said the tide was against the rupee right from the word go, and it resumed lower at 50.01 a dollar from its last close of 49.82. Pressure on the rupee built as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to take their money off the table and sent it home.Foreign banks were aggressively buying dollars as the greenback hit new highs on world markets.Analysts, however, feel that the Indian currency may remain under pressure in the days ahead though its movement will also depend on intervention from the central bank.Urvi Gandhi, analyst at Mecklai Financial Services, said the near-term prospects for the rupee appeared to be bleak as the sentiment was bearish on account of the liquidity crunch and the global economic slowdown.Gandhi said the rupee had taken a dive because the FIIs were no longer bringing dollars into the country.These investors have so far sold more than $11 billion of domestic stocks this year.The RBI has added to the gloom by scaling down domestic growth estimates from 8 per cent to a range between 7.5 per cent and 8 per cent.