Amid global turmoil, Rupee dives 44 paise to close at 3-week low

The rupee extended its losing streak for the fourth straight session and settled 44 paise lower at 86.70 against the US dollar on Wednesday, a three-week low for the domestic currency, amid escalating tariff turbulence globally even as the Reserve Bank reduced key interest rate by 25 basis points as a growth-stimulus measure.

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Even though crude oil prices fell sharply to a record low level and the American currency remained weak, the Indian currency stayed under pressure due to incessant outflow of foreign funds and lacklustre sentiment in the domestic equity markets, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 86.52 and moved between a high of 86.47 and the low of 86.76 against the greenback, facing extreme volatility. The unit settled at 86.68 against the dollar, lower by 44 paise from the previous closing level.

On Tuesday, the Indian currency crashed 50 paise to settle at 86.26 against the dollar. This was the steepest single-day decline for the rupee since January 13, when it had lost 66 paise.

In the preceding two sessions on Monday and Friday, the rupee had lost 32 paise and 14 paise, respectively. In the last four trading sessions the rupee has lost 104 paise against the US dollar.