Rupee weakens to 95.44 against dollar amid rising import bill and crude oil prices

Kolkata: The rupee weakened by another 0.35% to 95.44 a dollar amid concerns over rising import bill as the Brent crude crossed the $102 a barrel mark.

This is the third consecutive day of over 0.3% fall in the local currency, as the rupee came under pressure due to rising crude oil prices, foreign equity outflows and continued dollar demand from local importers.

"Given the steep rise in spot USD/INR over the past three sessions, upside momentum may moderate near the 95.80 resistance level, while 95.10 should provide near-term support," said Dilip Parmar, an analyst with HDFC Securities.


The rupee opened at 95.25, against the previous close of 95.11 and touched the intra-day low at 95.4675, a dealer said.

The Reserve Bank of India conducted dollar-rupee sell-buy swaps for the second day in a row to suck out excess liquidity from the inter-bank system. This prushed the forward premiums up, dealers said.