Rupee slips to 69.43 against US dollar amid sustained foreign fund outflows and trade worries

Mumbai: The rupee Tuesday slipped further by 3 paise to close at 69.43 against the US currency due to fag-end dollar demand from banks and importers amid sustained foreign fund outflows.Losses in the domestic equity market and a strengthening dollar against major currencies overseas amid trade worries also weighed on the local unit, forex traders said.Investor sentiment took a beating after IMF chief Christine Lagarde said US-China trade tensions were a 'threat' to the world economy.Crude oil prices also dropped further on growth concerns. Brent crude futures declined 1.19 percent to trade at $70.39 per barrel.The rupee opened flat at 69.40 and later rose to the day's high of 69.29 at the interbank forex market. However, it failed to maintain gains and touched intra-day low of 69.46 against the US dollar. It finally settled at 69.43, down 3 paise from the previous close.The rupee had settled 18 paise lower at 69.40 against the US dollar Monday.[caption id="attachment_6013191" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. Reuters.[/caption]"Rupee is consolidating in narrow range," VK Sharma, Head PCG & Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities commented.The rupee came under pressure following a massive selloff in the domestic equity markets.The BSE Sensex ended 323.71 points, or 0.84 percent, lower at 38,276.63. The index hit an intra-day low of 38,236.18 and a high of 8,835.54.Similarly, the NSE Nifty dropped 100.35 points to settle below the 11,500 level at 11,497.90. During the day, the bourse hit a low of 11,484.45 and a high of 11,657.05.Foreign investors were net sellers in capital markets Monday pulling out assets worth Rs 948 crore on a net basis, provisional exchange data showed.Meanwhile, the Dollar Index which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.04 percent to 97.55.Meanwhile, Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 69.3095 and for rupee/euro at 77.7010. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 90.9706 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 62.59.