Rupee Weakens To End At 73.03 Against Dollar Tracking Asian Currencies

The rupee dropped by 16 paise - or 0.22 per cent - to end the 73.03 mark against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking weakness across most Asian currencies. It moved within a range of 24 paise, between 72.89 and 73.13, during the four-hour session. A firmer dollar overseas and volatility in domestic equities put pressure on the rupee, according to analysts. At the current level, the rupee has recovered 5.04 per cent from its all-time low of 76.91, registered in April this year, but still down 2.32 per cent so far this year. 

Domestic stock markets turned flat in afternoon deals in a volatile session on Wednesday, as gains in IT and automobile shares were offset by losses in banking and financial services stocks.

The dollar index - which measures the greenback against six other currencies - was last seen trading 0.25 per cent higher, having risen as much as 0.37 per cent earlier.

While the Japanese yen was down 0.19 per cent against the US currency, the Chinese yuan was up 0.07 per cent. The Singaporean dollar was flat, and the South Korean won, the Thai baht and the Indonesian rupiah were down 0.20 per cent, 0.29 per cent and 1.18 per cent respectively.

Crude oil prices gave up most of the day's gains after climbing more than 1 per cent during the session, but were on course to end higher for the third day in a row. A record production cut by top producers recently has boosted oil rates.

Brent crude - the global benchmark for crude oil - was last seen trading 0.20 per cent higher at $45.67 per barrel, having risen as much as 1.03 per cent to $46.05 per barrel earlier.