Rupee falls 19 paise to close at 74.31 against U.S. dollar

The rupee tumbled 19 paise to close at 74.31 against the U.S. dollar on Monday as a stronger greenback against key rivals and rising crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank Foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 74.16 and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.13 and a low of 74.41 against the U.S. dollar in day trade.

The local unit finally settled at 74.31 a dollar, down 19 paise over its previous close. On Friday, the rupee had settled at 74.12 against the U.S. dollar.

“Rupee traded weak as dollar index rallied on the back of U.S. FED tapering bond-buying hints in weeks ahead,” said Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at LKP Securities.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.10% lower at 93.93.

“OPEC meeting outcome will impact crude prices and USD/INR pair being a crude net importer hence traders will keep a close eye on OPEC meet outcome,” Mr. Trivedi said, adding that going ahead the rupee can be seen between 74.20 to 74.60.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.15% to $ 79.40 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 533.74 points or 0.91% higher at 59,299.32, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 159.20 points or 0.91% to 17,691.25.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Friday, as they purchased shares worth ₹131.39 crore, as per exchange data.