Rupee closes lower at 75.76 per dollar

Indian rupee ended 13 paise lower at 75.76 per dollar, amid volatile trade seen in the domestic equity market.

It opened lower at 75.73 per dollar against Tuesday's close of 75.63.

At 14:07 IST, the Sensex was up 318.19 points or 1.01% at 31771.70, and the Nifty was up 88.50 points or 0.96% at 9294.10.

"The resurfacing of trade tensions between the US and China has again led the rupee traverse on the declining path. Origin of coronavirus which has inflicted severe global economic damage is the point of contention between the two, and President Trump has threatened fresh tariffs on China. Sentiments have also taken a beating amid weak PMI manufacturing numbers, underscoring the impact of coronavirus on the economy, where the overall trend in rupee looks skewed on the downside," said Sugandha Sachdeva VP-Metals, Energy & Currency Research, Religare Broking.

"The IIP numbers ahead are expected to be weak and are going to further worsen the rupee dollar equation. However, reopening of various economies in a phased manner has boosted risk appetite to some extent and is underpinning the rupee, where 77 mark is guarding it from further depreciation. Rupee is expected to gyrate in the range of 75.20 -76.60 in coming days," she added.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, ending a multi-day streak of gains, as investors focused on oversupply risks after US crude inventories rose more than expected amid a slump in demand caused by restrictions to halt the coronavirus spread.

The rupee paused its winning streak as the Dollar Index reverted from its support of 98.5. Selling in global markets, rise in crude oil prices can attract some buying in dollar as safe heaven assets, said ICICIdirect.