Dollar not alone, rupee breaches key levels across the board

As rupee's record fall against the US dollar continues to hog the limelight, it has also lost ground and breached key levels against a host of other currencies including British pound, euro and Swiss franc.

Adding to rupee's woes, British pound today crossed Rs 106 level, euro went past Rs 92, Swiss franc touched Rs 75 mark, Canadian dollar was at Rs 65, Australian dollar at over Rs 60, while New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Bruneian dollar and Libyan dinar crossed Rs 50 level.

Among even more expensive foreign currencies, one Kuwaiti dinar is now worth more than Rs 240, Bahraini Dinar over Rs 180, Omani rial has went past Rs 175 and Latvia Lat at Rs 130.

Against the most prominent foreign currency US dollar, the rupee has fallen to a record low of Rs 68.75.

The US greenback has appreciated by about 28% since May this year, amid aggravating concerns over flight of foreign funds from India due to weak domestic economic conditions and global headwinds.

Rupee's fall has been same or higher against a host of other foreign currencies including pound, euro, Swiss franc for the same period.

The plunge has been less sharper against a few like Australian dollar (10%), New Zealand dollar (16%) and Brazilian real (8%).

A few currencies against which the rupee has appreciated since May include those in countries like Panana, Tongo, Surinam, Tajikistan, Solomon Islands, Salvador, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Syria, Congo, Somalia, Sierra Leon and Guinea.

An analysis of foreign exchange rates across the world shows that Kuwaiti dinar is the most expensive against the rupee at current level of close to Rs 243, followed by Bahraini dinar (Rs 182), Omani rial (Rs 178) and Latvian lat (Rs 130).

Among the major foreign currencies, British pound is the most expensive and hit a record high of Rs 106.91 this afternoon, followed by euro, Swiss franc, US dollar, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar.

At least eight foreign currencies currently trade over Rs 100 mark, including Isle of Man pound, Gibraltar pound and Jersey pound. Besides, euro and Jordanian dinar are in 90s. At least 50 foreign currencies trade at over Rs 50 level.

The number of foreign currencies having a value higher than rupee is at least 100, while those valued less than Indian currencies include those of Bangladesh, Liberia, Algeria, Serbia, Kenya, Angola, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Albania, Syria, Iceland, North Korea, Sri Lanka and Nigeria.

Currencies in countries like Guyana, Yemen, Hungary, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Chile, Rwanda, Congo, Burma, South Korea, Iraq, Somalia, Lebanon, Burundi, Mongolia, Tanzania, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Uganda, Cambodia, Paraguay, Lao, Belarus, Indonesia, Iran and Vietnam also carry value less than one rupee.