The rupee plunged 31 paise to settle at 90.99 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, tracking a strong American currency against major currencies and higher crude oil prices amid intensifying US-Iran tensions.
Positive momentum in domestic equity markets failed to support the Indian, forex analysts said.
They attributed the strengthening greenback and volatile crude prices to heightened tension between the US and Iran, with both countries signalling they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran's nuclear programme fizzle out.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.94 against the US dollar and touched the intraday low of 91.04 during the session. It ended the session at 90.99 (provisional), registering a steep loss of 31 paise from the previous closing level.
The rupee rose 4 paise to settle at 90.68 against the US dollar on Wednesday. The currency exchange markets were closed on Thursday on account of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti.
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Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said the rupee declined on geopolitical tensions and a strong dollar. Surge in crude oil prices also weighed on the domestic currency. However, positive domestic markets cushioned the downside.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on escalating geopolitical tensions and strengthening of the dollar," he said, adding, "USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 90.70 to Rs 91.30."
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.01 per cent at 97.86.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.50 per cent lower at USD 71.50 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex rose 316.57 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 82,814.71, while the Nifty advanced 116.90 points or 0.46 per cent to 25,571.25.
On Thursday, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 880.49 crore, according to exchange data.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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