Rupee falls 14 paise to 82.35 against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated 14 paise to 82.35 against the U.S. dollar in the morning trade on Wednesday amid the strengthening of the American currency and sustained foreign fund outflows.

Moreover, risk aversion sentiment among investors and weak Asian and emerging market currencies weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.32 against the dollar, then lost further ground to 82.35, registering a loss of 14 paise over its previous close.

In a highly volatile session, the local unit also touched 82.28 against the American currency in initial deals.

On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low to close 19 paise higher at 82.21 against the US dollar.

“Most Asian and emerging market peers were weaker this Wednesday and will weigh on sentiments,” Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities said, adding that investors will remain cautious ahead of the release of key domestic macro data.

India’s inflation, IIP and manufacturing output are due today, while the more important FOMC minutes are scheduled for late evening.

“Investors will also await a key U.S. inflation report tomorrow that is expected to influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy stance,” Iyer said, adding that the RBI will remain proactive if the rupee’s volatility increases during the day.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.23% to 113.48.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.67% to $93.66 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 229.6 points or 0.40% up at 57,376.92, and the broader NSE Nifty rose 71.60 points or 0.42% to 17,055.15.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,612.67 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.