Rupee falls 5 paise to settle at 82.85 against US dollar

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The rupee declined by 5 paise to settle at 82.85 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a broad-based selloff in domestic markets.

Forex traders said the rupee is likely to trade with a slightly negative bias on recovery in the greenback and concerns over elevated crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.82 and witnessed an intra-day low of 82.91 and a high of 82.82 against the greenback during the trading session.

The local unit finally settled at 82.85 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a loss of 5 paise from its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee consolidated in a narrow range and closed 5 paise lower at 82.80 against the US dollar.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on concerns over weakness in the domestic markets and extended selling by FIIs. Elevated crude oil prices may also weigh on Rupee. USD/INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of ₹82.70 to ₹83.10,” said Anuj Choudhary Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.04 per cent at 102.99.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 1.26 per cent to $82.95 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex plunged 906.07 points, or 1.23 per cent, to settle at 72,761.89 points. The Nifty tumbled 338.00 points, or 1.51 per cent, to close at 21,997.70 points.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they bought shares worth ₹73.12 crore, according to exchange data.

On the macroeconomic front, India’s industrial production growth slowed to 3.8 per cent in January, while the February retail inflation at 5.09 per cent remained within the Reserve Bank’s comfort zone for the sixth straight month, according to the latest government data.