Mumbai: The Indian rupee lost further ground on Tuesday, settling 7 paise down at 73.86 to the US dollar, tracking weaker Asian peers against the greenback.
Besides, month-end dollar demand from importers too exerted pressure on the Indian currency.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.78 per US dollar and traded between a high of 73.75 and a low of 73.91 during the session. It finally closed at 73.86, registering a fall of 7 paise over its previous close.
“The slide in the Indian rupee continued for the second straight day, with INR hitting levels last seen in August. The primary reasons for the depreciation in the rupee could be month-end dollar buying. The dollar index was trading steadily against the basket of currencies,” said Nish Bhatt, founder, and CEO, Millwood Kane International.
Bhatt further noted that the Reserve Bank postponing its monetary policy later this week also had a bearing on the rupee.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.09 percent to 94.19.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.75 percent to USD 42.11 per barrel.
“Moving forward, the update from the first US presidential debate expected later today, development on the all-important economic stimulus package from the US government to boost growth and its subsequent impact on the US dollar will drive the rupee chart,” Bhatt said.
Traders said the rupee consolidated in a narrow range on Tuesday and volatility remained low after the Reserve Bank postponed its policy meeting.
According to Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, most Asian currencies were weak against the US currency and weighed on sentiments.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 8.41 points or 0.02 percent lower at 37,973.22; and the NSE Nifty slipped 5.15 points or 0.05 percent to 11,222.40.