USD-INR Rate Today: Rupee Extends Losses To Third Straight Day, Slides To 73.75 Against Dollar

Rupee vs Dollar Today: The rupee declined by 15 paise - or 0.20 per cent - against the US dollar on Wednesday, amid a mixed trend in Asian currencies as the greenback continued to strengthen. It moved in a range of 73.56-73.75 in the first half of the four-hour session, having started the day mildly weaker at 73.68 compared to its previous close of 73.60. At 12:02 pm, the rupee traded seven paise lower - 0.10 per cent - at 73.67 against the US currency.

Domestic share markets tracked a deepening selloff in global stock markets. The S&P BSE Sensex index fell as much as 1.12 per cent - or 430.09 points - to 37,935.26 during the session, whereas the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark dropped 1.17 per cent - or 132.2 points - to 11,185.15.

The dollar index - which gauges the dollar against six currencies - declined as much as 0.15 per cent on Wednesday, as a stock market slide spooked investors into selling riskier currencies.

The Japanese yen traded 0.18 per cent higher against the dollar at the time. While the Hong Kong dollar was up 0.18 per cent and the Taiwanese dollar up 0.08 per cent, the Chinese yuan was down per cent, the South Korean won down 0.21 per cent and the Indonesian rupiah was down 0.47 per cent.

"The risk sentiment has turned around completely on both global as well as domestic front... Fears of escalation in India-China border tensions led to a selloff in Indian equities, debt and the rupee," said Abhishek Goenka, founder and CEO of forex advisory firm IFA Global.

At Tuesday's closing level of 73.60, the rupee has recovered 4.30 per cent from an all-time low of 76.91, registered in April. However, it is still down 3.14 per cent against the greenback so far this year.  

Meanwhile, crude oil prices extended losses, as a rebound in COVID-19 cases in some countries undermined hopes for a steady recovery in global demand. Brent crude futures - the global benchmark for oil prices - slumped as much as 1.03 per cent to $39.37 per barrel. 

"Crude has slipped to mid-June lows as sell-off in equity market and gains in US dollar is coupled with rising OPEC production and signs of weaker demand in physical market," said Ravindra Rao, VP-head commodity research at Kotak Securities.

"Crude may remain under pressure unless US equity markets stabilise or we see a sharp drop in US crude stocks," he added.