Rupee falls 7 paise to close at 82.74 against US dollar
Down for the third consecutive session, the rupee fell 7 pounds to 82.74 (tentative) against the US dollar on Wednesday, as intense selling pressure in local stocks and a strong overseas dollar weighed on sentiment.
The continued influx of foreign capital and the sharp drop in crude oil prices limited the decline in the domestic unit, said forex dealers.
- Weekly rupee view: The support could limit the downside in the INR
The dollar was trading as high as 104 as the positive development in the US debt ceiling bill boosted investor sentiment.
Domestically, traders were watching the annual GDP data due later in the day.
In the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened weak at 82.71 against the dollar. The currency touched an intraday low of 82.75 and a high of 82.64.
The unit finally settled at 82.74 (temporary) per dollar, recording a decrease of 7 pounds from its previous close.
On Tuesday, the rupee closed at 82.67 against the greenback. The currency has been declining for the past three sessions.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.34 percent to 104.54.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.69 percent to $72.30 a barrel.
In the local stock market, the 30-share BSE Sensex index fell 346.89 points, or 0.55 percent, to 62,622.24 points. The broader NSE Nifty index fell 99.45 points, or 0.53 percent, to 18,534.40 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Tuesday buying shares worth Rs 2,085.62 crore, according to exchange data.