MUMBAI, April 17 (PTI): The rupee depreciated 25 paise to close at 82.10 (provisional) against the US currency on Monday as a strong American currency overseas and a negative trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments.
Forex traders said firm crude oil prices also dragged the local unit down.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.90 against the dollar, and finally ended the session at 82.10 (provisional), 25 paise lower down from its previous close.
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During the day, the rupee witnessed a high of 81.87 and a low of 82.10 against the greenback.
On Thursday, the rupee settled at 81.85 against the dollar.
Domestic forex and equity markets were closed on Friday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti.
“The Indian rupee started the week on a sour note after a long weekend amid a rebound in the dollar index and risk-off sentiments. However, the day trading range remained small in the absence of fresh cues,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
There is a relief at factory gate inflation as the wholesale inflation reading came at 1.34 per cent below the 1.6 per cent estimates and 3.85 per cent the previous month.
Spot USD/INR is hovering around 82 amid the central bank’s intervention and dollar buying from the importers, Parmar said, adding that technically, the pair has support at 81.70 and resistance at 82.50.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.76 per cent to 101.71.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.12 per cent to USD 86.21 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 520.25 points or 0.86 per cent lower at 59,910.75 points. The broader NSE Nifty declined 121.15 points or 0.68 per cent to 17,706.85 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday as they purchased shares worth Rs 221.85 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India’s forex reserves increased by USD 6.306 billion to USD 584.755 billion for the week ended April 7, the RBI said on Friday.
