Rupee snaps six-day winning streak, down 16 paise to 67.24 vs US dollar

NEW DELHI: Snapping a six-day winning streak, the rupee fell 16 paise to 67.24 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, amid mixed cues from most Asian currency markets.

The domestic currency had closed at 67.08 on Friday. The currency market was closed on Monday on account of Mahashivratri.

Data released on Tuesday showed the Japanese economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the December quarter, compared with a contraction of 1.4 per cent in the preceding quarter. The numbers came in better than expectations.

The Chinese trade surplus narrowed in February to $32.59 billion, compared with 63.29 billion in the preceding month.

Asian currencies were mixed. The Japanese yen rose 0.52 per cent to 112.88 against the greenback post the GDP numbers. The Taiwan dollar was up 0.70 per cent to 32.77. The Chinese yuan advanced 0.17 per cent to 6.50.

On the flip side, the Singapore dollar and the Korean won slipped 0.33 per cent each, the Indonesian rupiah fell 0.38 per cent, while the Malaysian ringgit declined 0.13 per cent.

The dollar index, which tracks the movement of dollar against a basket of six major world currencies, fell 0.05 per cent to 97.02.

International developments have been weighing on the domestic currency, believes Angel Commodities.

"In the recent Union Budget proposal 16-17, the Finance Minister has re-structured the taxation branch which has annoyed the foreign investors. Thus, foreign investors are playing safe which has led to huge foreign outflows. Weakness in global growth had prompted the RBI India to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.75 per cent in its sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy review earlier. All the above factors will keep the Indian Rupee pressurized," the brokerage said.