Rupee closes at 11-week low of 67.45 against US dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Friday weakened for the seventh consecutive session against the US dollar, on concerns of slowing dollar inflows. Fall in local equity markets for the third consecutive session also dampened investor sentiment.

The home currency closed at 67.45—a level last seen on 2 March, down 0.11% from its previous close of 67.37. The rupee opened at 67.42 per US dollar and touched a low of 67.50, a level last seen on 9 March.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been net sellers so far this month. FPIs have sold $270.87 million worth of shares and bonds this month. In March and April, they bought $4.33 billion and $1.13 billion, respectively.

Traders are cautious as they expect foreign institutional investors may sell more in Indian markets if the US Federal Reserve raises interest rates in the near term. The next Fed policy meet is on 15 June.

India’s benchmark Sensex index fell 0.39%, or 97.82 points, to close at 25,301.90. So far this year, the Sensex is down 3.12%.

India’s 10-year bond yield closed at 7.478%—a level last seen on 30 March, as compared with its Thursday’s close of 7.471%.

So far this year, the rupee has weakened 2%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $2.02 billion from the local equity market and sold $681 million in debt markets.

Asian currencies closed mixed. Japanese yen was down 0.44%, Indonesian rupiah 0.32%, Thai baht 0.15% and Singapore dollar 0.07%. However, Taiwan dollar was up 0.18%, South Korean won 0.14%, Philippines peso and China renminbi were up 0.05% each.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.32, up 0.04% from its previous close of 95.287.