Rupee drops 6 paise to 83.39 against US dollar in early trade

In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee started at 83.34 against the dollar, then dropped to an early low of 83.39 against the greenback, marking a 6-paise decline from its previous close.

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 6 paise to 83.39 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, tracking a negative trend in domestic equities and elevated crude oil prices.

Forex traders said the rupee is expected to trade with a slight negative bias on sustained foreign fund outflows.

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At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.34 against the dollar and touched an early low of 83.39 against the greenback, registering a decline of 6 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled 2 paise lower at 83.33 against the US dollar.

Forex traders said the rupee moved in a range-bound manner on Wednesday and is expected to be in a small range on Thursday also, as markets await US GDP, US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Prices Index and Bank of Japan meeting outcome.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was at 105.78, lower 0.07 per cent.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.11 per cent to USD 88.12 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 12.44 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 73,840.50. The Nifty fell 11.75 points, or 0.05 per cent to 22,390.65.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,511.74 crore, according to exchange data.