Mumbai: The rupee breached the crucial 84-mark second time within a month and settled 3 paise lower at 84.01 on Wednesday amid a sharp decline in the domestic equity markets as investors stayed away from riskier assets.

However, a weak dollar against major currencies overseas and a drop in crude oil prices capped losses in the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 83.96 and traded in the range of 83.95-84.02 during the day. The unit moved in a tight range of 83.95-83.97 for most part of the session, but finally settled at 84.01, registering a loss of 3 paise from its previous close of 83.98.

The Indian unit had touched its lowest closing level of 84.09 on August 5.

“…Weak domestic markets and risk aversion in the global markets pressurised the rupee. However, a decline in crude oil prices and FII inflows cushioned the downside. India’s services PMI expanded to 60.9 in August vs forecast of 60.4 and a reading of 60.3 in July,” Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.17 per cent to 101.65.