Rupee extended losses for the second day on Tuesday to trade 5 paise lower at 66.58 against the US dollar after the greenback rebounded versus most Asian currencies as two US Federal Reserve officials supported the case for a hike in interest rates sooner rather than later.
Snapping its three-day winning spree against the American currency on Monday, the rupee declined by 3 paise to close at 66.53 on fag-end dollar demand from importers.
Rating agency India Ratings believes currency market is likely to consolidate this week. It expects the rupee to trade in the range of 66.20-67.05 vs US dollar.
The dollar index, which tracks the value of greenback against a basket of six major currencies, last traded at 95.460, pulling further away from a five-month trough of 94.578 set on Friday.
Most Asian currencies traded lower against American currency. Yuan, rupiah and Singapore dollar eased 0.11 per cent, 0.42 per cent and 0.28 per cent, respectively.
[Source:- Businesstoday]