Rupee weakens by 4 paise at 66.14

Sharp sell-off in domestic equity markets and robust dollar against major world currencies impacted the rupee sentiment

The rupee today turned weak against the US dollar, after a brief recovery yesterday, falling by four paise to end at 66.14 on renewed demand for the American unit from importers amid global volatility.

Sharp sell-off in domestic equity markets and robust dollar against major world currencies predominantly impacted the rupee sentiment, a forex dealer said.

Heavy capital outflows against the backdrop of volatile global situation amid Fed rate hike fears also added some pressure.

The domestic currency resumed lower at 66.22 per dollar as against Tuesday's closing level of 66.10 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange and dropped further to a low of 66.37 following robust dollar demand.

However, the domestic unit witnessed a smart rebound to hit an intra-day high of 66.07 on the back of dollar selling by banks and export houses, before slipping back to end at 66.14, revealing a loss of 4 paise, or 0.06 per cent.

The dollar firmed up against the other major currencies due to strong US macro data which raised market expectations for an interest-rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was substantially higher by 0.83 per cent at 94.70.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex retreated to close sharply lower by 317.72 points at 25,714.66.