The rupee on Thursday ended lower by 17 paise to 64.67 against the US dollar with forex market sentiment dipping over simmering geopolitical tensions at the global level. Investor sentiment soured over rising military heat in the Middle
East and the Korean peninsula following last week’s US strike against Syria and sabre-rattling by the US and North Korea. Besides, key macro data industrial production (IIP) for February and retail inflation for March to be released later in the day also appear to have made domestic forex market extra cautious. Domestic bourses also succumbed to profit-taking after brief rebound overnight ahead of the start of the Q4 earnings season. The home currency resumed sharply lower at 64.65 compared to Tuesday’s closing value of 64.50 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market here.The rupee plunged to touch an intra-day low of 64.73 before ending at 64.67, revealing a loss of 17 paise, or 0.26 per cent.