Rupee skids 16 paise to 69.50 vs USD as oil prices shoot up

Snapping its two-session gaining streak, the rupee dived 16 paise to close at 69.50 against the US dollar Thursday amid a sharp rise in crude oil prices.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, soared 3.84 per cent to USD 62.27 per barrel after attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman triggered fears of supply disruptions.

The rupee opened at 69.33 per dollar and fell further to touch a low of 69.56 at the interbank foreign exchange market.

The local unit finally settled at 69.50, down by 16 paise over its previous close. The rupee Wednesday closed at 69.34 against the US dollar.

Foreign investors purchased shares worth a net Rs 172.35 crore Thursday, provisional exchange data showed.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 7.01 per cent on Thursday.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent lower at 96.96.

Meanwhile, domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex ended marginally lower after a see-saw session Thursday.

After plunging over 300 points during the day, the BSE gauge pared most losses to settle 15.45 points, or 0.04 per cent, lower at 39,741.36. The broader NSE Nifty inched up 7.85 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close at 11,914.05.

The Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 69.4048 and for rupee/euro at 78.7000. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 88.3282 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 64.07.