Rupee slips further 3 paise to 70.49 against dollar as crude pursue climb

The rupee slipped further by 3 paise to close at 70.49 against the US dollar Tuesday due to increased demand for the American currency from importers and firming global crude oil prices.

Forex traders said the dollar strengthening against major global currencies overseas and losses in the domestic equity market also weighed on the local unit.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the rupee opened lower at 70.50 and fell further to touch the day's low of 70.68 a dollar.

The domestic currency, however, pared some losses and finally ended at 70.49 per dollar, down by 3 paise against its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee had dropped by 88 paise, its biggest single-day loss in more than three months, to close at 70.46 against the US currency.

The rupee came under pressure following heavy selling in domestic equities and rise in crude oil prices.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, again and was quoted at USD 63.09 per barrel Tuesday, higher by 2.27 per cent, putting pressure on the local unit.

Building on Monday's surge, oil prices continued to rise Tuesday fuelled by the Russia-Saudi Arabia pact to cap output. Moreover, global investors also cheered the deal between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping announced Saturday, to halt the tariffs battle for 90 days while they try to resolve their differences.

The BSE Sensex ended lower by 106.69 points, or 0.29 per cent, to close at 36,134.31. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty edged up by 14.25 points, or 0.13 per cent, to end at 10,869.50.

Foreign funds withdrew Rs 55 crore on a net basis from capital markets, provisional data showed.

The Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 70.3455 and for rupee/euro at 80.0790. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 89.6450 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen was 62.21.