Rupee tumbles 36 paise to 71.16 per dollar

The rupee weakened by 36 paise Thursday to close at 71.16 per US dollar amid firming crude oil prices and persistent foreign capital outflows.

Heavy dollar demand from banks and importers and strengthening of the greenback against major currencies overseas weighed on the domestic unit, forex traders said.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the rupee opened lower at 70.90 and fell further to touch the day's low of 71.18.

It finally ended at 71.16 per dollar, down by 36 paise against its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee had ended 10 paise lower at 70.80.

"Higher crude prices and rising dollar index both are weighing on the rupee. The ICE Dollar Index has resumed its upward journey and has reached above 97, the highest level for the last two months," said V K Sharma, Head PCG and Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading at USD 64.47 per barrel, higher by 1.35 per cent.

Meanwhile, the domestic equity benchmarks ...