Rupee falls 15 paise to 82.64 against U.S. dollar

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The rupee depreciated 15 paise to 82.64 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on December 15 after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike and its hawkish stance dented investor sentiments.

A strong dollar against key rivals overseas and losses in the domestic equity markets sapped risk appetite, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened sharply lower at 82.63 against the dollar, then slipped further to 82.64, a decline of 15 paise over its previous close.

Also read: Rupee rises 15 paise to close at 82.45 against U.S. dollar

In the previous session on December 14, the rupee settled 11 paise higher at 82.49 against the U.S. dollar.

The U.S. Fed on Wednesday increased interest rates by 50 basis points on expected lines and signalled more hikes ahead to fight inflation. The U.S. central bank raised the interest rate to 4.25-4.50% to the highest level in 15 years.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.08% to 103.85.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.69% to $82.13 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 120.64 points or 0.19% lower at 62,557.27. The broader NSE Nifty fell 52.30 points or 0.28% to 18,660.30.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in capital markets on Wednesday as they bought shares worth ₹372.16 crore, according to exchange data.