The Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar on Thursday on continued demand for the greenback from importers, even as US Fed meeting minutes increased bids for a rate cut in September.
The local currency depreciated 2 paise at Rs.83.95 after opening at Rs 83.94 per dollar, according to Bloomberg data. It had closed at Rs 83.93 on Wednesday.
The rupee's ongoing decline has been fuelled by a growing trade deficit and relentless dollar demand from importers, placing it under significant pressure, according to CR Forex Advisors. It expects the RBI intervention to prevent the rupee from breaching the critical Rs 84.00 threshold.
The US Dollar Index was at 101.23 with a 0.19% rise at 3:39 p.m. IST. Brent Crude was trading at $76.48 with a 0.54% rise at 3:40 p.m. IST.
The Fed minutes revealed that most policymakers felt that interest rate easing was likely if data met expectations, noting that many viewed current rates as restrictive, with a few believing maintaining them could further slow economic activity due to easing inflation pressures.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of a basket of 10 leading global currencies versus the American currency, was up 0.18% at 101.22.
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