Rupee falls 13 paise to close at 82.38 against U.S. dollar

The rupee fell 13 paise to close at 82.38 (provisional) against the U.S. currency on Wednesday, weighed down by the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and a negative trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.29 against the dollar, also the intra-day high, and settled for the day at 82.38 (provisional), down 13 paise from its previous close.

During the day, the rupee touched a low of 82.45 against the greenback.

On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 82.25 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.34% to 102.91.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.19% to $75.05 per barrel.

“The Indian rupee depreciated on weak domestic markets and a strong dollar. However, FII inflows and easing crude oil prices cushioned the downside,” said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

The USD-INR pair is expected to trade between 82 to 83 in the near term.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on risk-off sentiments in global markets on the back of the debt ceiling crisis and weaker than expected data from China,” Mr. Choudhary said.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 371.83 points or 0.60% lower at 61,560.64 points. The broader NSE Nifty declined 104.75 points or 0.57% to 18,181.75 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the domestic capital market on Tuesday as they purchased shares worth ₹1,406.86 crore, according to exchange data.