Rupee falls 29 paise to close at all-time low of 83.11 against U.S. dollar

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| Photo Credit: C. Venkatachalapathy

The rupee depreciated 29 paise to settle at an all-time low of 83.11 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on August 14, weighed down by a strong greenback overseas and firm crude oil prices in the international markets.

Foreign fund outflows also weighed on the local unit, analysts said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.04 against the dollar, and it finally ended the day at 83.11 (provisional), registering a fall of 29 paise from its previous close.

During the session, the local unit touched a peak of 82.94 and a low of 83.11.

On Friday, the domestic unit had settled 16 paise lower at 82.82 against the dollar.

The rupee fell on weak domestic markets and a strong US dollar. India’s IIP also grew at a slower pace as compared to the forecast, said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

The dollar gained after U.S. PPI data was higher than forecast, and safe haven demand on risk aversion in global markets.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on risk aversion in global markets and rising US dollars. FII outflows may also weigh on the rupee.

“However, a decline in crude oil prices may support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from India’s inflation data which is expected to jump to 6.4 per cent from 4.81 per cent in the previous month. We expect the USD/INR spot to trade in the range of 82.50 to 83.50 in the near term,” Choudhary added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.01% to 102.85.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined by 0.28% to $86.57 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 79.27 points or 0.12% higher at 65,401.92 points. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 6.25 points or 0.03% to close at 19,434.55 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they offloaded shares worth ₹3,073.28 crore, according to exchange data.