Rupee falls 5 paise against US dollar
Forex traders said the rupee traded in a narrow range in the absence of global cues
image for illustrative purpose
Mumbai: The rupee started the new year on a weak note, depreciating by 5 paise to 83.21 against the US dollar amid a muted trend in domestic equities and dollar demand from importers.
Forex traders said the rupee traded in a narrow range in the absence of global cues.
International crude oil markets were closed for the New Year's Day holiday. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.18 and finally settled at 83.21 against the dollar, down by 5 paise from its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee appreciated 4 paise to settle at 83.16 against the US dollar on the last trading day of 2023. "The rupee traded sideways on the first day of the new year 2024 with a range between 83.23-83.31. The opening was positive but minor profit booking was observed after opening towards 83.31 during the day.
"The range for the day remains between 83.15-83.45 as dollar index weakness and Global market volatility, along with the RBI keeping the rupee stable shall keep the local unit range-bound," said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was 0.05 per cent up at 101.38. On the domestic equity market front, Sensex advanced 31.68 points, or 0.04 per cent, to settle at 72,271.94 points.
The Nifty advanced 10.50 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 21,741.90 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 855.80 crore, according to exchange data.
The forex reserves continued to rise for the third consecutive week, adding $4.471 billion more in the week ending December 22, taking the total to $620.441 billion, according to the weekly data released by the Reserve Bank on Friday.
In the previous reporting week, the kitty had swollen by $9.112 billion to $615.971 billion, making the quantum of increase one of the highest in a week. In the week before, the overall reserves had risen by $2.816 billion to $606.859 billion.
