Rupee falls to 6-week low against $

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated by 19 paise to close at a more than six-week low of 76.03 on Monday as weak domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

Forex traders said risk appetite has waned amid concerns over the second wave of Covid-19 globally. The rupee opened weak at 75.93 at the interbank forex market.

It fell further and finally settled lower by 19 paise at 76.03 against the US dollar, a level not seen since April 28. It had settled at 75.84 against the US dollar on Friday.

"Fears of the second wave of coronavirus infections in China sent investors scurrying for safe-havens," Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst (Commodity & Currency) at LKP Securities said.

China on Monday reported 49 new cases raising concerns of the second wave of coronavirus infections striking. India saw a jump of over 11,000 cases for the third consecutive day on Monday, taking the total number of infections to over 3.32 lakh.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback''s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.13 per cent to 97.19.

Forex traders said the decline in the local currency was largely due to weakness in domestic as well as global equities and marginal strength in the dollar against its major crosses.