The rupee ended weak at 71 on sustained dollar demand for the US currency amid rising crude prices.
The domestic currency opened lower at 70.95 and slipped further to hit its lifetime low of 71 from its previous close of 70.74 at the interbank forex market. It hovered in a range of 71 and 70.85 in the evening trade before ending the session at 71, down 26 paise at 5 pm local time.
Forex dealers said besides robust month-end demand for the American currency from oil importers, dollar’s strength against its rival currencies on expectations of rising interest rates amid lingering Sino-US trade tensions weighed on the domestic currency.
Yesterday, the rupee slid further by 15 paise to close at a fresh lifetime low of 70.74 against the dollar due to strong demand for the greenback from oil importers and rising crude oil prices stoking inflation fears.
Growing fears over inflation due to rising global crude oil prices and consistent outflow of foreign funds from the domestic equity market also weighed on the domestic currency. Benchmark Brent crude oil was trading at $78 a barrel in early Asian trade.
Meanwhile, the Sensex ended lower by 45.03 points or 0.12 per cent at 38,645.07 and the Nifty up 3.7 points or 0.03 per cent at 11,680.50.