The Indian rupee weakened 24 paisa on Wednesday, its worst fall in two weeks, to close at 85.42 per dollar as the currency failed to strengthen past the 85/$1 mark, leading to an unwinding of bets in favour of the local unit, dealers said.
The rupee had weakened to 85.52 per dollar, before closing slightly stronger. The currency had closed at 85.12 per dollar previously.
A stronger dollar index added pressure on the rupee. Most Asian currencies also declined following the surge in the dollar.
The dollar index was trading at 99.04, stronger from its lows of 97.9 after the US president Donald Trump assured markets the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell would not be dismissed.
The rupee was under pressure for most of the session and recovered only at the end of the trading day. “Towards the closing, there were sufficient exporters selling dollars, taking the rupee down to 85.44,” a trader with a public sector bank said.
