Rupee weakens against US dollar for second session in a row

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday weakened for the second session against the US dollar tracking losses in the Asian currencies markets.

The rupee opened at 64.62 and touched a low of 64.64 a dollar. At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 64.60 a dollar, down 0.2% from its Tuesday’s close of 64.50.

The 10-year bond yield was at 6.444% compared to its previous close of 6.451%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions. The benchmark Sensex index rose 0.17% or 53.26 points to 31,350.79. So far this year, it has risen 17%.

So far this year, the rupee has gained 5%, while foreign investors bought $8.21 billion and $13.77 billion in local equity and debt markets, respectively.

Asian currencies were trading lower as crude oil tumbled into a bear market on concern that a global supply glut will persist. South Korean won was down 0.5%, Philippines peso 0.21%, Taiwan dollar 0.18%, Malaysian ringgit 0.13%, Indonesian rupiah 0.08%, China offshore 0.08%, Thai baht 0.06% and China renminbi 0.05%. However, Japanese yen was up 0.15%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 97.731, down 0.03% from its previous close of 97.76.