Rupee breaches 70 per US dollar mark in intra-day trade

Mumbai: The rupee jumped 74 paise to breach the 70 per dollar mark and touched 69.88, a three-month high level, in intra-day trade on Thursday amid sustained selling of the greenback by exporters and easing crude oil prices.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened on a higher note at 70.15 and then gathered further momentum and touched an intra-day high of 69.88, a level last seen on August 27.

Forex dealers said, the US dollar weakened against other currencies overseas, after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell comments that the central bank's benchmark interest rate is likely to be near a neutral level.

Traders said robust foreign fund inflows and easing crude prices also supported the rupee. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 961.26 crore on Wednesday.

Globally, brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading 0.14 per cent down at USD 58.68 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex was trading with gains of 369.09 points, or 1.03 per cent, at 36,086.04.