Rupee weakens to 66.93 against US dollar in early trade.

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

The home currency opened at 66.93. At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 66.91 against the US dollar, down 0.11% from its previous close of 66.85. So far this year, it fell 1.15%.

Most Asian currencies weakened, led by South Korean won and the Philippine peso, as strong US manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers’ index) boosted the dollar and odds for a US Federal Reserve rate increase in December. Offshore yuan hit a new low of 6.7885 before paring losses, while onshore yuan held steady.

South Korean won was down 0.53%, Japanese yen 0.26%, Philippines peso 0.14%, Indonesian rupiah 0.08%, Malaysian ringgit 0.06% and Thai baht 0.05%. However, Taiwan dollar rose 0.1%.

India’s benchmark Sensex index was trading at 28,188.10 points, up 0.03% or 9.02 points from its previous close. So far this year, it has gained 7.9%.

So far this year, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have sold $752.80 million in debt and bought $7.42 billion in equity.

The benchmark 10-year government bond yield was trading at 6.761% compared to Monday’s close of 6.76%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading unchanged at 98.754.

Overnight, the US Markit survey of US manufacturing climbed to a one-year high of 53.2.

Source : livemint.com