Rupee snaps 2-day gaining streak

Snapping its two-day winning streak, Indian rupee ended considerably weaker against the US dollar on Monday as demand for the American unit from importers and banks picked up.

Traders remain concerned with report that India had a ‘worrisome’ debt burden of over Rs. 88 lakh crore at the first financial quarter of 2019 with the government apparently having no inkling to deal with the country’s economic slowdown.

Losses in the domestic equity market along with dollar’s strength against major global currencies overseas also weighed on the domestic unit. Sensex lost 155 points or 0.40 per cent to close at 38,667.33, while, the 50-share index Nifty breached 11,500 levels intraday and closed at 11,474.45, down by 37.95 points or 0.33 per cent. On the global front, dollar got good support on Monday as worries of an immediate broadening of the Sino-U.S. trade war eased.

Finally, the rupee ended at 70.87, 31 paise weaker from its previous close of 70.56 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 70.35 and 70.88 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 70.83 and for Euro stood at 77.32 on September 27, 2019. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 65.71, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 87.32.