MUMBAI, March 20 (PTI): The rupee depreciated by 4 paise to 82.63 against the US dollar on Monday, tracking negative sentiments in the domestic as well as global equity markets.
Traders said a steep fall in crude oil prices, however, resisted the fall in the Indian currency.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened stronger at 82.48 against the dollar. During intra-day, it went as high as 82.45 and hit the lowest level of 82.71. It finally settled at 82.63 (provisional) against the American currency, registering a fall of 4 paise against its previous close.
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On Friday, the rupee settled at 82.59 against the US dollar.
According to Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, after opening positive, the rupee started drifting lower towards 82.60 due to continued selling by the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) as traders across the globe were concerned over the US Federal Reserve policy decision scheduled on Wednesday.
“FIIs selling continued which kept rupee weak once positive opening on back of strong dollar. Rupee going ahead will keep volatility high as the important Fed interest decision due on Wednesday shall keep rupee in momentum,” he said.
“Till then range for rupee is seen between 82.35-82.75,” he added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03 per cent lower at 103.69.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined sharply by 2.43 per cent to USD 71.20 per barrel.
Rout in the banking stocks across the US and Europe adversely impacted investor sentiment across the globe as concerted efforts by central banks failed to address crisis faced by Credit Suisse and two US banks in the past week.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed 360.95 points or 0.62 per cent lower at 57,628.95 points while the broader NSE Nifty fell 111.65 points or 0.65 per cent to 16,988.40 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the domestic capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,766.53 crore, according to exchange data.
