Rupee falls 14 paise to close at 95.22 against US dollar on dollar recovery

The rupee depreciated 16 paise to close at 95.24 against the US dollar on Thursday, weighed down by a firmer dollar index and foreign fund outflows. Lower crude oil prices limited losses, while domestic equity markets ended higher

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 14 paise to close at 95.22 against the US dollar on Thursday, on slight gains in the US Dollar Index and a modest increase in US Treasury yields.

Forex traders said the rupee was pressured by a slight recovery in the US Dollar Index and foreign fund outflows, even as lower crude oil prices provided some underlying support.

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At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.13 against the greenback and traded in a range of 95.12-95.24 during the session. It eventually settled at 95.22, lower by 14 paise from its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee gained 20 paise to settle at 95.08 against the US dollar. “Indian Rupee declined today on a slight bounce in the US Dollar index and modest gains in the US treasury yields.

“However, weak crude oil prices and hopes of a deal between the US and Iran prevented a sharp fall,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan.

Choudhary further said that the rupee is likely to trade with a slight positive bias on a rise in risk appetite in global markets amid hopes of a deal between the US and Iran.

“However, any bounce back in the dollar index and US treasury yields may cap sharp gains. Traders may take cues from weekly unemployment claims data from the US. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 94.80 to 95.50,” Choudhary said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.78, down 0.11 per cent.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.09 per cent at USD 79.52 per barrel in futures trade.

For India, Brent near USD 80 per barrel substantially reduces the pressure on the import bill, inflation and the current account compared with the USD 100+ levels seen in July, said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex climbed 373.76 points to settle at 78,954.76, while the Nifty closed marginally up by 11.35 points to 24,636.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 17.86 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.