Hitting a new low, rupee at 71 against US dollar now

New Delhi, Aug 31: The Indian rupee fell to a record 71, falling 26 paise in the morning trade. It has opened at a fresh record low of 70.95 per dollar versus previous close 70.74.

Earlier on Thursday, rupee had plunged to a fresh record low of 70.81 to a US dollar during the morning trade session.

Forex dealers said besides robust month-end demand for the American currency from oil importers, dollar's strength against its rival currencies on expectations of rising interest rates amid lingering Sino-US trade tensions, weighed on the domestic currency.

Growing fears about rising inflation in amid high global crude oil prices and consistent outflow of foreign funds from the domestic equity market also weighed on the domestic currency.

Benchmark Brent crude oil was at USD 78 a barrel in early Asian trade. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex fell 78.64 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 38,611.46 points in opening trade.

The government will release gross domestic product (GDP) data for the June quarter today, according to ministry of statistics and programme implementation website.

PTI