Rupee trades lower at 66.77 against US dollar.

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Monday weakened against the US dollar, tracking the losses in its Asian peers.

The rupee opened at 66.78 per dollar. At 9.12am, the home currency was trading at 66.77 per dollar, down 0.17% from its previous close of 66.66.

Most Asian currencies declined owing as Friday’s oil price plunge and increasing focus on the US presidential election raise risk-averse sentiments.

Malaysian ringgit was down 0.53%, Philippines peso 0.53%, South Korean won 0.5%, Taiwan dollar 0.28%, Singapore dollar 0.12%, Thai baht 0.1%, China offshore 0.05% and Indonesian rupiah 0.05%. However, Japanese yen was up 0.12%.

India’s benchmark Sensex index fell 0.08% or 24.33 points to 28,643.89. So far this year, it has gained 9.77%.

The 10-year bond yield stood at 6.802%, compared to its Friday’s close of 6.804%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The rupee is down 0.92% till date this year, while foreign institutional investors have bought $6.82 billion in equity and sold $630.20 million in debt markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.449, down 0.03% from its previous close of 95.477.

Source : livemint.com