The rupee plunged by 70 paise to its life-time low of 76.34 against the US dollar on Wednesday as a rise in coronavirus cases in the country fanned fears of the government extending the lockdown to contain the pandemic.

Forex traders said rising Brent crude prices and a firm US currency also weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 75.83 and lost further ground to settle at 76.34, registering a fall of 70 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 75.64 against the US dollar.

“Rupee continued its weak trend after some respite yesterday. USD-INR pair in offshore market traded higher on Wednesday tracking the spike in spot pair due to rising case of coronavirus in India amid a strong greenback,” Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst (Commodity & Currency) at LKP Securities commented.

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