Rupee weakens by 9 paise to trade at 72.62 against US dollar

The Indian rupee furthered its loss by another 7 paise to 72.62 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid growing concerns over surging coronavirus cases in India and some other parts of the world.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened significantly lower at 72.68 a dollar, but recouped some of its losses as the morning trade progressed.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.03 per cent to 92.55.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 1.04 per cent to $63.55 per barrel.

Analysts believe that volatility will stay in the market for sometime due to an uncertainty caused by the second wave of Covid-19 attack in India and a third wave in parts of Europe.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex slumped nearly 500 points or over 1 per cent, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 135 points or 0.93 per cent.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they sold shares worth Rs 1,951.90 crore, as per exchange data.