Rupee recovers from its record low-level

Indian rupee recovered against US dollar on Friday after touching a record low of 74.50 per dollar in the initial trade on worries over the fast-spreading Coronavirus outbreak across the globe.

With rupee weakening beyond 74 to dollar level, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Thursday, stepped in to arrest further depreciation of the domestic unit, announcing that it will undertake six-month dollar sell/buy swap to provide liquidity to the foreign exchange market. To begin with, it will offer $2 billion on March 16. Though, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,475.29 crore on Thursday, exchange data showed.

On the global front, US dollar stood tall as investors scrambled for the world's most-liquid currency amid deepening panic about Coronavirus outbreak while, euro nursed losses after European Central Bank (ECB) disappointed investors by not cutting rates. The greenback held gains against most currencies after a blowout in swap spreads showed investors are facing a shortage of dollars as equity markets plunged on fears about the economic impact of the flu-like virus.

The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 74.01, stronger by 27 paise from its previous close of 74.28 on Thursday. The currency touched a high and low of 74.5050 and 73.8900, respectively.