Rupee slips 4 paise to 90.24 as US action in Venezuela boosts dollar

The rupee weakened by 4 paise to 90.24 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as geopolitical tensions following US military action in Venezuela boosted demand for the greenback, despite lower crude prices offering limited support.

Mumbai: The rupee opened weak and declined 4 paise to 90.24 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, as geopolitical uncertainties triggered by the US intervention in Venezuela fuelled the demand for the American currency.

According to forex traders, the rupee is expected to trade lower due to geopolitical development, even though a lower crude prices could provide some cushion.

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At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.21 against the US dollar and lost further to trade at 90.24 against the greenback in early deals.

On Friday, the rupee settled lower by 22 paise at 90.20 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.36 per cent higher at 98.50.

The US on Saturday carried out a military operation in Venezuela an deposed President Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said the US would “run” the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at USD 60.70 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex declined 135.81 points to 85,626.20 in early trade, while the Nifty was down 25.75 points to 26,302.80.

Foreign institutional investors turned net buyers, picking up equities worth Rs 289.80 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

The latest RBI data released on Friday showed India’s forex reserves jumped by USD 3.293 billion to USD 696.61 billion in the week to December 26. The overall kitty had increased by USD 4.368 billion to USD 693.318 billion in the previous reporting week.