 "Rupee sinks 17 paise to 64.67 on global woes")
The rupee on Wednesday ended lower by 17 paise to 64.67 against the US dollar with forex market sentiment dipping over simmering geopolitical tensions at the global level.
Investor sentiment soured over rising military heat in the Middle East and the Korean peninsula following last week's US strike against Syria and sabre-rattling by the US and North Korea.
Besides, key macro data industrial production (IIP) for February and retail inflation for March - to be released later in the day - also appear to have made domestic forex market extra cautious.
The home currency resumed sharply lower at 64.65 compared to Tuesday's closing value of 64.50 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market here.
The rupee on Wednesday plunged to touch an intra-day low of 64.73 before ending at 64.67, revealing a loss of 17 paise, or 0.26 per cent.
The rupee had recovered 6 paise on Tuesday.
The RBI, meanwhile, fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 64.6920 and for the euro at 68.6706.
The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against a basket of six major rivals, was trading higher on the day at 100.65.
In cross-currency trade, the Indian unit remained weak against the pound sterling and finished at 80.82 from 80.15 per pound and declined further against the euro to settle at 68.54 compared to 68.43 earlier.
It also drifted against the Japanese Yen to end at 58.97 per 100 yens from 58.32 on Tuesday.
On the equity front, the Sensex dropped by 144.87 points to end at 29,643.48, and broader Nifty shed over 33 points to 9,203.45.
In the forward market on Wednesday, premium for dollar drifted due to sustained receivings from exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium for September moved down to 150-152 paise from 156-157 paise and the far-forward March 2018 contract also slipped to 307.5-309.5 paise from 312-314 paise on Tuesday.
In the global commodity front, crude prices extended gains into an eighth straight session on hopes of supply curbs after Saudi Arabia was said to be pushing its fellow Opec members and some rivals to prolong supply cuts beyond June amid growing geopolitical worries.
Investor sentiment soured over rising military heat in the Middle East and the Korean peninsula following last week's US strike against Syria and sabre-rattling by the US and North Korea.
Besides, key macro data industrial production (IIP) for February and retail inflation for March - to be released later in the day - also appear to have made domestic forex market extra cautious.
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Domestic bourses also succumbed to profit-taking after brief rebound overnight ahead of the start of the Q4 earnings season.
The home currency resumed sharply lower at 64.65 compared to Tuesday's closing value of 64.50 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market here.
The rupee on Wednesday plunged to touch an intra-day low of 64.73 before ending at 64.67, revealing a loss of 17 paise, or 0.26 per cent.
The rupee had recovered 6 paise on Tuesday.
The RBI, meanwhile, fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 64.6920 and for the euro at 68.6706.
The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against a basket of six major rivals, was trading higher on the day at 100.65.
In cross-currency trade, the Indian unit remained weak against the pound sterling and finished at 80.82 from 80.15 per pound and declined further against the euro to settle at 68.54 compared to 68.43 earlier.
It also drifted against the Japanese Yen to end at 58.97 per 100 yens from 58.32 on Tuesday.
On the equity front, the Sensex dropped by 144.87 points to end at 29,643.48, and broader Nifty shed over 33 points to 9,203.45.
In the forward market on Wednesday, premium for dollar drifted due to sustained receivings from exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium for September moved down to 150-152 paise from 156-157 paise and the far-forward March 2018 contract also slipped to 307.5-309.5 paise from 312-314 paise on Tuesday.
In the global commodity front, crude prices extended gains into an eighth straight session on hopes of supply curbs after Saudi Arabia was said to be pushing its fellow Opec members and some rivals to prolong supply cuts beyond June amid growing geopolitical worries.