Indian rupee hits new low, bank intervention suspected

India's rupee slumped to a new record low to the dollar Tuesday, prompting suspected central bank intervention, amid fears that measures to stabilise it and kickstart the economy will not work.
Asia's worst-performing currency this year slid to 64.13 rupees to the dollar in morning trading, past its previous low of 63.22 the previous day.
Two suspected interventions by the Reserve Bank of India to sell dollars saw the rupee retrace slightly to 63.19, dealers told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The RBI does not confirm forex market interventions and says it intervenes only to prevent rupee volatility.
The troubles of the rupee, which has slumped nearly 17 percent against the dollar this year, has spilt over to the stock and bond markets.
Indian shares -- which have fallen seven percent in the past three trading days -- slid as much as 1.83 percent in early trade Tuesday to a low of 17,970.98 points before recovering to close down 0.34 percent at 18,246.04.
The yield on the 10-year benchmark bond hit 9.23 percent intraday, the highest for over five years, reflecting eroding investor appetite for Indian debt as worries about the economy and potential default mounted.
India's weak trading sentiment was mirrored across key Asian stock markets, with investors jittery before Wednesday's publication of the minutes of July's US Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
These may give indications about a possible rollback of the Fed's massive stimulus programme.