The Indian Rupee plunged 50 paise to settle at 95.75 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar, wiping out gains from almost every attempt made by RBI to attract dollar inflows, as weak Asian cues and persistent Dollar demand from oil firms weighed.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.55 against the greenback and traded in the range of 95.55 to 95.76 before settling at 95.75 (provisional), down 50 paise from its previous close.
The domestic unit appreciated 16 paise to close at 95.25 against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday amid likely intervention from the Reserve Bank of India to curb excessive volatility and prevent a further slide in the Rupee.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 100.07, up 0.13%
Meanwhile, Gold prices slid for the second straight day, declining by Rs 2,100 to Rs 1.53 lakh per 10 grams in the national capital on Thursday. According to marketmen, the yellow metal of 99.9 per cent purity depreciated by Rs 2,100 to Rs 1,53,900 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes) from Wednesday’s closing level of Rs 1,56,000 per 10 grams.
Meanwhile, bullion sentiment in the international markets remained under pressure. Spot gold was trading flat at USD 4,072.21 per ounce while silver slipped marginally to USD 63.18 per ounce, after the European Central Bank raised its key interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday.