For the first time the Rupee breached the psychological level of 60 against a dollar and closed at 60.72, clearly indicating tough days ahead for the economy and the common man alike.
While a weakening rupee will further aggravate our Current Account Deficit which widened to a record 6.7 per cent of the GDP during October-December 2012, the common man will be severely hit as the consequent fuel hike will have a cascading effect on the prices of items used on a daily basis, including foreign trips.
The Rupee hitting a lifetime low also affected the stock markets as the Sensex lost 77 points and closed at 18,552.12, while the Nifty dropped 20.40 points to end below the key 5,600-mark at 5,588.70 due to renewed concerns over FII outflows.
However, giving some respite to average consumers, gold prices fell by Rs801 to Rs25,758 per 10 gm in futures trade on Wednesday on selling pressure amid a steep fall in overseas markets.
Selling pressure gathered momentum on reports that gold prices had a great fall in nternational markets.