Rupee closes lower against US dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Monday closed weaker against the US dollar while bond yield hit six-month high after international crude oil prices climbed near two year high.

The home currency ended at 64.68 against the dollar, down 0.20% from its Friday’s close of 64.55. The rupee opened at 64.66 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 64.63 and 64.74 respectively.

Oil traded near the highest level in two years after Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, ousted officials during an anti-graft probe in the world’s biggest crude exporter, Bloomberg reported. Analyst were worried about higher inflation and also the government may miss fiscal deficit target due to the higher crude prices.

The 10-year bond yield closed at 6.893%—a level last seen on 12 May, compared to its previous close of 6.858%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The 30-share Sensex rose 0.14%, or 45.63 points, to closed at 33,731.19. So far this year, the Sensex has gained 26.19%.

So far this year, the rupee has gained 5.23%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $6.20 billion and $22.86 billion in equity and debt, respectively.

Asian currencies were trading mixed as Friday’s data showing better-than-expected growth in US service industries. Indonesian rupiah was down 0.20%, South Korean won 0.12%, Philippines peso 0.08%. However, Malaysian ringgit was up 0.12%, China renminbi 0.12% and Thai baht 0.1%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.914, down 0.03% from its previous close of 94.941.