MUMBAI, March 23 (Reuters) – The Indian rupee fell to a record low on Monday, pressured by a sustained rise in oil prices and mounting worries that the Middle East conflict could prolong energy-supply disruptions and strain the outlook for Asia’s third-largest economy.
The rupee fell to 93.94 against the U.S. dollar, eclipsing its previous low of 93.7350 hit on Friday.
Oil prices have surged more than 50% this month, and the International Energy Agency has said the crisis is worse than the two oil shocks of the 1970s put together.
The rupee, among currencies most exposed to sustained oil price increases, has weakened about 3% since the war began last month. Foreign investors have pulled $9.5 billion from Indian stocks in the same period, further pressuring the currency.
