The rupee slumped 44 paise to close at 73.47 against the US dollar on Thursday as rise in demand for the American currency from oil importers weighed on forex market sentiment. 

Besides, stronger greenback against its key rival currencies and subdued domestic equities exerted pressure on the domestic unit.At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened on a weak note at 73.23, lost further ground during the session and finally settled for the day at 73.47 against the greenback, registering a fall of 44 paise over its last close. 

During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 73.23 and a low of 73.48 against the American currency.Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.18 per cent to 93.01.

"Rupee ended lower Thursday tracking a strong greenback amid oil importers dollar demand. A strong dollar index pushed USD/INR spot pair higher today," Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst (Commodity & Currency) at LKP Securities, said.

The greenback rose against major peers after investors trimmed bets against the greenback and sold the euro on concerns that the European Central Bank was worried about its rise, he added.Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.06 per cent to USD 43.96 per barrel.Traders said markets will be eyeing weekly US jobless claims data for further cues.