Mumbai: The Indian rupee slid 20 paise to settle at 75.02 to the US dollar on Thursday, tracking weaker Asian currencies amid concerns over global economic recovery due to rising coronavirus cases.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit hit an intra-day high of 74.93 and low of 75.05 against the US dollar. It finally ended at 75.02, down 20 paise over its previous close of 74.82.
Forex traders said strong dollar, weak domestic equities and details of US Federal Reserve meeting minutes weighed on investor sentiment.
The US Fed’s policymaking body has expressed concerns about the rising COVID-19 cases further impacting the economic recovery.
“The US dollar has strengthened overnight after the release of US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes that were less dovish than expected,” said Abhishek Goenka, founder and CEO, IFA Global.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.31 per cent to 93.17.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.82 per cent to USD 45 per barrel.
“The Indian rupee depreciated against the US dollar on Thursday as the Federal Reserve’s minutes suggested a weak view on economic recovery in the US, weakening the appetite for risk assets,” said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst, Reliance Securities.
Moreover, Asian currencies were weak this Thursday afternoon and further weighed on sentiments, he said.
Investors will now await cues from the jobless claims due tonight, Iyer said.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 394.40 points or 1.02 per cent lower at 38,220.39; and the NSE Nifty fell 96.20 points or 0.84 per cent to 11,312.20.
Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said, “Indian rupee in line with other Asian currencies declined as the Federal Reserve’s less optimistic growth outlook hurt demand for risk assets. FOMC minutes that has failed to feed the rally by seemingly neither offering enough clarity on strategy changes nor on fresh stimulus.”
Meanwhile, the number of cases around the world linked to COVID-19 has crossed 2.24 crore and in India, the number of infections topped the 28-lakh mark.
—PTI

Press Trust of India