Rupee furthers losses by 25 paise to 70.46 vs USD on rising oil prices

The Indian rupee Wednesday extended its losses by another 25 paise to close at 70.46 against the US dollar as continued rise in global crude oil prices weighed on sentiments.

Besides, the stronger US dollar against major global currencies also put pressure on the domestic currency.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) Wednesday, the rupee opened on a firm note at 70.08, but soon pared its initial gains and fell to an intra-day low of 70.65 against the US dollar.

The domestic currency, however, recovered some lost ground and finally settled for the day at 70.46 per dollar, down 25 paise over its previous closing.

On Tuesday, the rupee had plunged by 53 paise to close at 70.21 against the US dollar.

"Indian rupee depreciated ahead of Sino-American Trade deal statement. Along with the risk-on sentiment and rise in crude oil added pressure on Rupee," HDFC Securities Head PCG and Capital Markets Strategy V K Sharma said.

The US and Chinese negotiators extended trade war talks into a third day Wednesday, and traders believe that the extension shows both sides are serious about negotiations.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, were further up and trading at 59.75 per barrel, a rise of 1.75 per cent.

The dollar index was trading lower by 0.06 per cent at 95.84 against a basket of six currencies in the late afternoon trade.

"Positive trade deal is mostly discounted in the dollar and it might not move significantly lower than the prevailing prices even after the final statement of the deal," Sharma said.

Meanwhile, foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 276.14 crore from the capital markets on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 439.67 crore Wednesday, provisional data showed.

Continuing its rising spree for the fourth session, benchmark BSE Sensex reclaimed the 36,000 mark by jumping over 200 points Wednesday. The 30-share index settled at 36,212.91, showing a gain of 231.98 points, or 0.64 per cent. The NSE Nifty also gained 53 points, or 0.49 per cent, to settle 10,855.15.