Mumbai, The rupee fell 2 paise to close at 84.49 (provisional) against US dollar on Friday, dragged down by significant foreign fund outflows and month-end dollar demand from importers. Forex traders said, dollar demand from importers weighed on the rupee. However, positive domestic markets and a correction in crude oil prices cushioned the downside.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.49 and touched the lowest level of 84.50 against the greenback during intra-day. The unit ended the session at 84.49 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a fall of 2 paise over its previous close.
The rupee hit its lowest-ever closing level of 84.50 on November 21.
On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 7 paise to close at 84.47 against US dollar.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on strong dollar and geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Any surge in crude oil prices amid the geopolitical tensions and month-end dollar demand from importers may also weigh on the rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan.
“However, a positive tone in the domestic markets and any intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from India’s Q2 FY25 GDP data. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 84.35 to 84.70,” Choudhary added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.15 per cent at 105.88.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.30 per cent to USD 73.06 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 759.05 points or 0.96 per cent to 79,802.79 points, while Nifty was up 216.95 points or 0.91 per cent to 24,131.10 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded Rs 11,756.25 crore in the capital markets on net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.
