New Delhi, August 20 (HS): After gaining for two consecutive sessions, the Indian rupee ended weaker on Tuesday, slipping 11 paise to close at 87.07 (provisional) against the US dollar. The decline came amid a surge in crude oil prices and renewed demand for the greenback in the currency market. On Monday, the rupee had settled at 86.96 against the dollar.

The local currency opened on a weaker note at 87.16 in the interbank foreign exchange market—20 paise lower than its previous close. Early in the day, the rupee further slipped to 87.18. However, inflows of the US dollar later helped the currency pare some losses, recovering as much as 20 paise to touch an intraday high of 86.98.

Despite the brief rebound, strengthening dollar demand pushed the rupee back down, and it finally ended the day at 87.07 per dollar, marking a net loss of 11 paise.

Interestingly, against other major global currencies, the rupee managed a mixed performance. It closed flat against the British pound—which moved in the range of ₹117.24 to ₹117.67—ending the day unchanged at 117.55 (provisional). Against the euro, however, the rupee gained 16 paise to settle stronger at 101.39.

Market analysts attributed the rupee’s broad fluctuations to volatile crude prices and dollar demand pressures but noted that foreign inflows and supportive domestic sentiment helped limit sharper losses.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar