Rupee falls 12 paise to 81.97 against US dollar

The value of the rupee fell 12 paisa to 81.97 against the US dollar in early trading on Monday, affected by flat crude oil prices and the negative trend in local stocks.

Forex traders said the strengthening of the US currency in overseas markets also affected domestic unity.

In the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.90 against the dollar, then fell to 81.97, recording a decrease of 12 pounds from its last close.

On Thursday, the rupee settled at 81.85 against the dollar.

Weekly rupee view: INR remains constant

The local forex and stock markets were closed on Friday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.15 percent to 101.70.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.08 percent to $86.38 a barrel.

In the local stock market, the 30-share BSE Sensex Index was trading down 740.8 points, or 1.23 percent, at 59,690.20. The broader NSE Nifty index fell 187.50 points, or 1.05 percent, to 17,640.50.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday buying shares worth Rs 221.85 crore, according to exchange data.

Traders said that factors such as global market sentiment, quarterly earnings, crude oil prices, movement in the US DXY and other forex currencies, and finally the RBI’s action, will determine the local currency terms.

Meanwhile, India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $6.306 billion to $584.755 billion for the week ending April 7, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.

“…RBI has always been accumulating its forex reserves and futures book whenever the pair tests the lows in several weeks or months. Therefore, as long as RBI continues to buy on dips and maintains the level of 81.50, one can expect a reversal move towards 82.30-82.50 In the short term,” said CR Forex Advisors MD-Amit Babari.