Rupee ends tad lower against dollar on Wednesday

Indian rupee ended marginally lower against the US dollar on Wednesday, on account of fresh demand for the American currency from banks and importers.

Traders remained cautious as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) lowered India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast to 6.5 percent for the current fiscal (FY20), considering the GDP growth slipping to a six-year low in the April-June quarter of 2019-20.

Heavy losses in the domestic equity market along with dollar’s strength against major global currencies overseas also weighed on the domestic unit. The domestic market witnessed heavy sell-off, led by sharp fall in auto and bank stocks. Both Sensex and Nifty lost more than 1 per cent each at the end of the session.

On the global front, dollar recovered on Wednesday after a formal impeachment inquiry began against U.S. President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the latest Sino-U.S. trade row is hurting currencies correlated with global growth.

Finally, the rupee ended at 71.04, 3 paise weaker from its previous close of 71.01 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 70.98 and 71.14 respectively.