Rupee slides for fourth straight day, closes 33 paise lower at 94.11 amid oil price surge

The Indian rupee extended its losing streak for a fourth consecutive trading session on Thursday, slipping 33 paise to close at 94.11 against the US dollar (provisional). The domestic currency breached the 94-per-dollar mark for the second time this month, pressured by surging crude oil prices and growing uncertainty over peace talks in West Asia. 

Forex traders said heavy selling in domestic equities, persistent foreign fund outflows, and rising global demand for the US dollar further weakened the rupee. The currency has now declined more than 1% over the past week. 

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.03 and moved between an intra-day high of 93.98 and a low of 94.17 before settling at 94.11. 

On Wednesday, the rupee had fallen 34 paise to close at 93.78, marking its third straight session of losses. 

Over the last four trading sessions, the rupee has shed 120 paise, or nearly 1.3%, from its April 17 closing level of 92.91. 

The domestic currency had earlier come under pressure from geopolitical tensions linked to the conflict in West Asia, which began on February 28. It first crossed the key 94-per-dollar level on March 23 and later touched a record intra-day low of 95.22 on March 30. 

However, the rupee had staged a recovery in recent weeks following a series of measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India. 

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which tracks the US currency against a basket of six major peers, rose 0.12% to 98.53. 

Brent crude rises 1.8%

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 1.88% to $103.83 per barrel in futures trade. 

Indian equity markets also saw sharp losses. The benchmark Sensex plunged 852.49 points, or 1.09%, to close at 77,664.00 while the Nifty dropped 205.05 points, or 0.84%, to end at 24,173.05. 

According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹2,078.36 crore on Wednesday.