Bombay:
The rupee fell 65 paise on Monday to close at 82.73 (preliminary) against the US currency, weighed down by greenback gains in overseas markets and a subdued trend in domestic equities.
Continued foreign fund outflows and firm crude oil prices further depressed investor sentiment, according to forex traders.
In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 82.35 against the greenback and fell to an intra-day low of 82.76. It finally settled at 82.73 (preliminary), 65 paise lower than the previous close.
In the previous session on Friday, the rupee settled at 82.08 against the US dollar.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, traded 0.24 percent higher at 103.16 on robust US economic data that raised expectations of an aggressive Federal Reserve.
The global oil benchmark Brent oil futures rose 0.45 percent to USD 80.30 a barrel.
The Indian rupee depreciated on a US dollar rally and weak domestic markets, said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
The dollar gained on robust US economic data that raised expectations from the aggressive Federal Reserve.
Nonfarm payrolls added 517,000 jobs in January, beating estimates of 193,000, while the ISM services PMI rose unexpectedly to 55.2 in January, sharply above estimates of 50.5. The unemployment rate fell to 3,000. 4 percent in January compared to the forecast of 3.6 percent.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias as the dollar rally could further weaken the domestic currency. Weak domestic stocks and FII outflows could also put downward pressure on the rupee,” said Choudhary.
However, a weak tone in the price of crude oil could prevent a sharp fall in the rupee. Market participants may remain cautious on Wednesday awaiting the outcome of RBI’s monetary policy.
“There are expectations of a rate hike of 25 basis points to 6.5 percent USDINR spot price which is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82 to Rs 83.30,” Mr Choudhary said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 334.98 points or 0.55 percent lower at 60,506.90, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 89.45 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,764.60.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they sold shares worth Rs 932.44 crore, according to exchange data.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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