Rupee Tumbles 28ps To 87.46/$

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 28paise to close at 87.46 against the US dollar on Friday, as the strength of the American currency and a negative trend in domestic equities dented investor sentiments. Forex traders said the ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariff imposition by the US has left financial markets in flux. Moreover, the tariff chaos has injected volatility and uncertainty into the US Dollar Index. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 87.32 against the greenback. During the session it fell to an intra-day low of 87.53 before ending the session at 87.46 against the dollar, logging a loss of 28paise from its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee settled almost flat with a marginal gain of 1paisa at 87.18 against US dollar.

Elevated greenback against major crosses and sustained FII outflows also contributed to the decline in the domestic unit, forex traders said. Besides, month-end dollar demand by importers amid uncertainty over US trade tariffs also boosted the American currency. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08 per cent higher at 107.33. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank on Friday conducted US dollar-rupee swap worth $10 billion for injecting long term liquidity in the system, with the auction eliciting robust demand.