Rupee drops 9 paise to 83.43 against US dollar

Forex traders noted that the domestic unit found support from a weaker US dollar and positive sentiment in the equity markets.

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 9 paise to 83.43 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday amid rising crude oil prices and outflow of foreign capital.

The domestic unit, however, found support due to a softening American currency and positive equity market sentiment, forex traders said.

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At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.39 and lost further ground to trade at 83.43 against the greenback in initial deals, registering a fall of 9 paise from its previous closing level.

On Friday, the rupee settled 11 paise higher at 83.34 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 105.30, lower by 0.23 per cent.

“The US dollar eased slightly on Friday after data showed inflation subsided, reinforcing expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.52 per cent to USD 85.44 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 136.09 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 79,168.82. The broader NSE Nifty rose 41.75 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 24,052.35.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 23.09 crore, according to exchange data.

India’s forex reserves jumped by USD 816 million to USD 653.711 billion in the week ended June 21, the RBI said on Friday.

In the previous week, the overall reserves had dropped by USD 2.922 billion to USD 652.895 billion.

The eight key infrastructure sectors’ growth rose by 6.3 per cent in May on healthy expansion in the production of coal, natural gas, and electricity, though the growth rate was lower than in April, according to official data released on Friday.

The central government’s fiscal deficit was at 3 per cent of the annual estimates at May-end 2024-25, the first two months of the financial year during which model code of conduct was in place due to Lok Sabha elections.