The rupee managed to recover modest ground versus the dollar in the process of trading activity, dealers said.
In the first Asian trade, the safe-haven yen climbed and the yuan slid on Monday after US President Donald Trump threatened to increase tariffs on China, sending riskier assets into a spin and slamming stock futures.
Trump on Sunday increased pressure on China to reach a trade deal by announcing he will hike US tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods this week and target hundreds of billions more soon.
The announcement via Twitter marked a major shift in tone from Trump, who has cited good progress in trade talks and praised his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Wall Street Journal reported sources saying Beijing might cancel talks with their US counterparts in Washington planned for Wednesday.
Investors responded by bidding up the yen, which is considered a safe harbour in times of stress given Japan's status as the world's largest creditor and its huge hoard of assets abroad.
The dollar was available at Rs 69.385 in terms of the Indian rupee, the greenback was at 4.147 versus the Malaysian ringgit and US currency was trading at 6.781 against the Chinese yuan.
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Open Bid Rs.141.00
Open Offer Rs.141.50
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Bid Rate Rs.141.26
Offer Rate Rs.141.28
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Following lack of buyers' interest in the market, the greenback could not sustain and ended lower for buying and selling at Rs 141.10 and Rs 141.70 against the previous closing trend of Rs 141.20 and Rs 142.00 respectively, local currency dealers said.
Similarly, the national currency also followed the same suit in relation to the pound sterling. The pound's buying and selling rates declined from the Saturday's closing of Rs 184.30 and Rs 185.70 to Rs 183.30 and Rs 184.55 respectively, they added.
The dollar opened at Rs 141.40 (buying) and Rs 141.50 (selling) against last rate of Rs 141.80 (buying) and Rs 141.90 (selling). It closed at Rs 141.40(buying) and Rs 141.50(selling).
The buying and selling rates of one tola of gold was Rs. 68,900 (selling) and Rs 68,700 (buying) in the local Sarafa (gold) markets of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.