Rupee closes 13 paise weaker against US dollar at 63.97

Mumbai: The rupee erased the morning gains against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking weakness in the local stock markets.

At 5pm, the rupee ended at 63.97 per dollar, down 0.21% from its previous close of 63.84. The partially convertible currency opened at 63.81 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 63.74 and 64.01, respectively.

Since January this year, the rupee has lost 1.46%. The Sensex lost 1.75%, or 469.52 points, to close at 26,370.98 points.

The local currency gained against the dollar in morning trade as better macroeconomic data surfaced on Wednesday.

The current account deficit (CAD) for the March quarter slipped to 0.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), its lowest in a year, helped by a lower trade deficit.

A low CAD will support the rupee and help India counter possible capital outflows in the event of a hike in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve later this year.

On Thursday, Malaysian ringgit lost 0.272%, Taiwan dollar 0.129%, Singapore dollar 0.393%,Thai baht 0.430%, Philippine peso 0.524%, South Korean won 0.052%, Hong Kong dollar 0.004%, Japanese yen 0.809%, while Indonesian rupiah declined 0.053%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.07, up 0.45% from the previous close of 94.646.

The 10-year bond yield closed at 7.87% against its previous close of 7.82%. It opened at 7.82% and touched a high and a low of 7.88% and 7.82%, respectively.