Rupee Ends Weaker At 76.03 Against Dollar Amid COVID-19 Fears

Edited by Sandeep Singh (with inputs from agencies)

15 Jun 2020, 11:45 AM IST

Rupee Vs Dollar: The rupee weakened to as low as 76.15 against the dollar during the session

Rupee Vs Dollar Today: The rupee weakened by 31 paise - or 0.41 per cent - to slide below the 76 level against the US dollar on Monday tracking Asian currencies, as fears about a second wave of COVID-19 infections continued to affect global markets. The rupee moved in a range of 75.92-76.15 in the first half of the four-hour session, before shutting shop 76.03 against the US currency for the day. At the current level, the rupee is down 6.54 per cent against the greenback so far this year.

Domestic equity markets slid more than 2 per cent as a rise in domestic coronavirus cases and worries over a second wave of infections in China sapped investors' appetite for riskier assets. The S&P BSE Sensex index fell to as low as 33,005.68 during the session, down 775.21 points from the previous close, and the broader 50-scrip NSE Nifty benchmark slid to as low as 9,749.15 as against its previous close of 9,972.90.

As of Monday, COVID-19 cases in the country had surged well past 3,32,400, with more than 9,500 deaths. India is the fourth-worst affected country in the world.

International crude oil prices fell on Monday as a spike in new coronavirus cases in the US raised concerns over a second wave of the COVID-19 disease which would weigh on the pace of fuel demand recovery. Brent crude futures - the global benchmark for crude oil - was last seen trading down 1.7 per cent at $38.07 per barrel.

The dollar index - which gauges the greenback's performance against six currencies - was last seen trading down 0.18 per cent, having declined 0.30 per cent earlier.

Analysts say the rupee is expected to continue to trade in a narrow range in the near term.

"Since the RBI had not allowed speculative short positions to build up during recent global weakness in the dollar by bidding aggressively, the rupee may not react much during a phase of global dollar strength as well," said Abhishek Goenka, founder and CEO of forex advisory firm IFA Global.

Currency markets currently operate within reduced trading hours due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. The temporary timings are from 10 am to 2 pm, instead of the normal timings of 9 am to 5 pm.