` drops 44 paise to 70.90 against $ amid sharp sell-off in equities

MUMBAI: The rupee depreciated by 44 paise to close at 70.90 against the US dollar Thursday amid a strengthening greenback and sharp decline in equity markets.

The dollar and yen rose on safe-haven buying after the arrest of a top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei in Canada for suspected Iran sanctions violations renewed concerns over Us-china relations.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped 2.76 per cent to trade at $59.86 per barrel amid a crucial meeting of Opec members.

Forex traders said increasing demand for the greenback weighed on the domestic unit, which slipped below the 71 mark during the day.

After opening lower at 70.82, the rupee plunged to the day's low of 71.14 and finally settled for the day at 70.90, down 44 paise over its previous closing price.

On Wednesday, the rupee ticked higher by 3 paise to 70.46 against the US dollar.