Rupee ends at 60.21 against dollar, falls for 3rd day

The Indian rupee closed below the psychological mark of 60 against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. The partially convertible rupee traded at 60.2150 against Tuesday's close of 59.66. This was the third day of losses for the dollar.

Earlier in the day, the rupee hit a low of 60.39 on account of strength in the greenback, which hovered at one-month highs against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday.

Concerns that foreign investors would continue to exit domestic markets added to concerns about the funding of the country's record current account deficit.

"It is very difficult for the currency to appreciate on a sustained basis in the current environment. There are concerns about QE tapering and high current account deficit," Sonal Varma of Nomura told NDTV.

The U.S. Federal Reserve had last month hinted that it may taper its bond buying programme if the economy continues to show signs of recovery.

The rupee is still not too far from the record low of 60.76 hit last week. Still, in the near-term, the rupee could continue to find support from rumoured inflows related to Unilever's $5.1 billion open offer for its Indian unit, dealers said.

A sharp selloff in equity markets also weighed on sentiments. The Sensex declined 286 points, while the 50-share Nifty closed below the key 5,800 mark.

(With inputs from Reuters)