After a brief recovery, the rupee once again turned weaker against the US currency and lost 11 paise to close at 64.52 on fresh bouts of dollar demand from importers amid continued geo—political headwinds.

Headline-driven volatility and nervousness due to the ongoing tensions between US and North Korea predominantly kept forex market sentiment shaky despite subdued dollar overseas.

Sluggish domestic equities also weighed on trade, though smooth supply of dollars due to persistent capital inflows into equities and debts largely cushioned the fall.

In the meantime, foreign investors pumped in a whopping Rs 16,500 crore in the Indian capital markets this month so far on the back of improved investor sentiment and growth in the manufacturing sector.

The greenback remained under immense pressure and fell alongside benchmark US treasury bond yields as geopolitical unrest and worries about slowing economic growth following the release of lower US retail sales and consumer prices data cooled Fed interest rate hike expectations.

After a flat opening at 64.42 against last Thursday’s closing value of 64.41, the home unit quickly regained strength to hit a fresh intra—day high of 64.29 stimulated by a weaker dollar.

However, the rupee relinquished its strong initial gains and retreated sharply to hit a low of 64.53 in late afternoon deals before ending at 64.52 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, showing a loss of 11 paise.