BackRupee closes 18 paise lower against US dollar at 66.40
The rupee weakens against the US dollar, tracking the losses in Asian currencies market
Premium(Priyanka Parashar/Mint )
Mumbai: The Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking the losses in Asian currencies market.
The home currency closed at 66.40, down 0.26% from its previous close of 66.22. The rupee opened at 66.33 per dollar and touched a high and a low of 66.18 and 66.42, respectively.
India’s benchmark Sensex rose 0.14%, or 36.20 points, to close at 25,880.38 points. In the last six trading sessions, the Sensex has gained over 4.89%, or 1,206.54 points. So far this year, the Sensex is down 0.91%.
India’s 10-year bond yield closed at 7.476%, as compared with its Wednesday’s close of 7.438%.
So far this year, the rupee has gained 0.36%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $1.41 billion from the local equity market and sold $261.90 million in the debt market.
Most Asian currencies closed lower. The Philippines peso was down 0.6%, Malaysian ringgit 0.48%, Thai baht 0.38%, Taiwan dollar 0.17%, Singapore dollar 0.16%, China renminbi 0.14%, and Indonesian rupiah declined 0.07%. However, South Korean won rose 0.2%, and Japanese yen 0.07%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.384, down 0.11% from its previous close of 94.492.
Traders are cautious ahead of the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) policy meeting later in the day. ECB president Mario Draghi is likely to drive home the case for ultra-loose monetary policy on Thursday, hitting back after a barrage of criticism from German officials who dispute the bank’s recipe for tackling the euro zone’s economic malaise, Reuters reported.
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