The rupee skidded by 11 paise to close at 71.24 against the US dollar on Thursday as rising oil prices and a strengthening greenback weighed on the market sentiment.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic unit opened strong at 71.06 and rose to 70.91. However, it could not hold on to the gains and fell to a low of 71.29 before finally ending at 71.24 — a fall of 13 paise.
The rupee had closed at 71.11 against the US dollar Wednesday.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), who had been heavy sellers over the past few sessions, net bought equities worth Rs 55 crore Thursday while domestic institutional investors bought shares to the tune of Rs 202 crore, provisional data showed.
Global markets were mixed following the release of Federal Reserve minutes which showed that the US central bank would be patient on interest rate hikes.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.13 per cent to 96.57.