Rupee hits record low of 77.82 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 8 paise to a record low of 77.82 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday, tracking the strength of the greenback in the overseas market.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a weak note at 77.81 against the American dollar, then lost ground to quote at 77.82 — its all-time low level, registering a fall of 8 paise from the last close.

On Thursday, the rupee fell by 6 paise to close at 77.74 against the US dollar.

The rupee opened weaker against the dollar this Friday tracking the overnight strength of the greenback, said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

Asian and emerging market peers have started mixed, while Asian equity remained under pressure and could weigh on sentiments, Iyer noted.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.66 per cent to USD 122.26 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent lower at 103.17.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 620.68 points or 1.12 per cent lower at 54,699.60, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 165.30 points or 1 per cent to 16,312.80.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,512.64 crore, as per stock exchange data.