Rupee falls 17 paise to 82.75 against U.S. dollar

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The Rupee depreciated 17 paise to 82.75 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on February 13, weighed down by a strong American currency and a muted trend in domestic equities. “Firm crude oil prices further dented investor sentiments,” forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.68 against the dollar, then fell to 82.75, registering a decline of 17 paise over its last close. In the previous session on Friday, the Rupee settled at 82.58 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.15% to 103.78. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.83% to $85.67 per barrel.

Forex traders said the Rupee is likely to trade with a slight negative bias amid risk aversion in global markets. Moreover, a sharp pullback in crude oil prices and strong dollar on hawkish tone of Fed may also put pressure on the Rupee.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 187.1 points or 0.31% lower at 60,495.60. The broader NSE Nifty declined 44.30 points or 0.25% to 17,812.20.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Friday as they purchased shares worth ₹1,458.02 crore, according to exchange data.