Indian rupee weakens against dollar on Wednesday

Indian rupee weakened against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday as India-US trade deal euphoria fades away. While U.S. President Donald Trump announced an immediate reduction in reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 25%, investors sought more clues on trade deal between India and US. Besides, the rise in crude oil prices have weighed on the Indian rupee. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 58.5 in January from 58.0 in December. Further, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- also surged to 58.4 in January as against 57.8 in December. On the global front, Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday, ahead of snap election on February 8 and caution about country’s fiscal health under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's expansionary spending strategy.

Finally, the rupee ended at 90.48 (Provisional), weakened by 16 paise from its previous close of 90.32 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 90.54 and 90.26 respectively.