Rupee falls 19 paise to close at 81.77 against U.S. dollar

i The rupee settled 19 paise lower at 81.77 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on January 17, tracking a rebound in the greenback overseas and firm crude oil prices.

Forex traders said sustained foreign fund outflows further weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 81.79 against the greenback, then lost ground and fell to an intra-day low of 81.89.

The domestic currency finally settled at 81.77, down 19 paise over its previous close.

In the previous session on Monday, the rupee had settled at 81.58 against the U.S. dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.19% higher at 102.40.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 0.46% to $84.85 per barrel.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 562.75 points or 0.94% higher at 60,655.72, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 158.45 points or 0.89% to 18,053.30.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday as they offloaded shares worth ₹750.59 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, on the domestic macroeconomic front, India’s exports contracted 12.2% to $34.48 billion in December 2022, mainly due to global headwinds, and the trade deficit widened to $23.76 billion.

Imports last month also declined 3.5% to $58.24 billion as against $60.33 billion in the year-ago period.

In December 2021, exports stood at $39.27 billion and the trade deficit was at $21.06 billion.