Rupee trades lower at 66.45 against US dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday weakened marginally against the US dollar in thin holiday trade, tracking losses in most Asian currencies.

At 2.20pm, the rupee was trading at 66.45 a dollar, down 0.1% from its previous close of 66.40. The local currency opened at 66.44 and touched a low of 66.47 a dollar, a level last seen on 18 December.

Most Asian currencies were trading lower against the dollar. Indonesian rupiah was down 0.74%, Taiwan dollar 0.34%, China offshore 0.33%, South Korean won 0.26%, Singapore dollar 0.16%, China renminbi 0.07%. However, Philippines peso and Thai baht were up 0.21% each, and Malaysian ringgit 0.07%.

India’s benchmark equity index, BSE Sensex, was trading at 26,047.07 points, down 0.11% or 27.93 points.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond stood at 7.747% compared with its Tuesday’s close of 7.758%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has weakened 5.1% against the dollar, while foreign institutional investors have bought $3.1 billion from local equity markets and $7.56 billion from the debt market.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 98.151, up 0.05% from its previous close of 98.101.