Strong dollar, crude prices pull rupee down by 23 paise
The rupee on Monday declined by 23 paise to close at 73.25 against the US dollar, extending its losses for the third session in a row due to rising crude oil prices and strengthening of the American currency in the overseas market.
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Mumbai: The rupee on Monday declined by 23 paise to close at 73.25 against the US dollar, extending its losses for the third session in a row due to rising crude oil prices and strengthening of the American currency in the overseas market.
The dollar rose to a three-and-a-half-month high against a basket of six currencies globally helped by passage of $1.9 trillion stimulus package by the US Senate, positive jobs data and rising bond yields.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 73.13 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 73.29 and a low of 72.93.
It finally ended at 73.25 against the American currency, registering a fall of 23 paise over its previous closing. The rupee has dropped by 53 paise or 0.73 per cent in three sessions to Monday mainly due to forex outflows from capital markets due to rising US bond yields.
"Indian Rupee depreciated amid strong dollar and surge in crude oil prices. Crude oil prices increased after Saudi Arabia said its oil facility was attacked by drone. Further, OPEC and its allies had agreed to keep most of their production cuts in place," said Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
However, sharp fall may be prevented on positive domestic markets, Mukadam said adding that the rupee may trade in the range of 72.70 to 73.50 in the next couple of sessions.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.27 per cent to 92.22. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.23 per cent to USD 69.52 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 35.75 points or 0.07 per cent higher at 50,441.07, while the broader NSE Nifty climbed 18.10 points or 0.12 per cent to 14,956.20.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,014.16 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
