Rupee falls 32 paise to close at 82.24 against U.S. dollar

The rupee plunged 32 paise to close at 82.24 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Friday amid renewed foreign fund outflows and negative trends in domestic equity markets.

An elevated level of crude prices nearing $84 a barrel also weighed on the domestic unit even as the American currency gained strength on the back of better-than-expected macroeconomic data from the U.S., forex traders said.

The dovish tone from European Central Bank (ECB), which raised interest rates on Thursday, also boosted the U.S. dollar.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened weak at 82.30 against the U.S. dollar. During intra-day, the domestic currency touched the peak of 82.19 and hit the lowest level of 82.34.

The rupee finally settled at 82.24 (provisional), 32 paise lower from the previous close of 81.92 on Thursday.

“Indian rupee fell on Friday on the strong U.S. dollar and weak domestic markets. The surge in crude oil prices further pressurized the domestic unit. The U.S. dollar gained on strong economic data from the U.S… This provided more room for U.S. Federal Reserve to hike interest rates further. The dovish tone from ECB also strengthened the dollar,” said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

America’s GDP grew by 2.4% in the April-June quarter, while weekly unemployment claims were lower than forecast.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on risk aversion in global markets and rising interest rates by most major central banks. A strong dollar and elevated crude oil prices may also put downside pressure on the rupee. However, FIIs remain as net buyers in July, which may support the rupee at lower levels,” Mr. Choudhary said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell marginally by 0.02% to 101.75.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading 0.47% lower at $83.84 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 106.62 points or 0.16% lower at 66,160.20. The broader NSE Nifty fell 13.85 points or 0.07% to 19,646.05.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth ₹3,979.44 crore, according to exchange data.