Rupee falls 26 paise to 74.54 against USD in early trade

The rupee declined by 26 paise to 74.54 against the U.S. dollar in opening trade on January 4, tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.

Forex traders said growing concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus and its impact on economic recovery as well as firm crude oil prices weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 74.49 against the U.S. dollar, then fell further to 74.54 against the greenback in early deals, registering a decline of 26 paise from the last close.

On January 3, the rupee settled at 74.28 against the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.04% to 96.25.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose by 0.53% to USD 79.40 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 323.98 points or 0.55% higher at 59,507.20, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 88.95 points or 0.5% to 17,714.65.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market on January 3, as they purchased shares worth ₹902.64 crore, as per exchange data.

Meanwhile, India’s exports in December 2021 surged 37% on an annual basis to USD 37.29 billion, the highest-ever monthly figure, on the back of healthy performance by sectors like engineering, textiles and chemicals, even as the trade deficit widened to USD 21.99 billion.

Imports in December too rose by 38% to USD 59.27 billion on account of an increase in oil imports, which soared 65.17% to USD 15.9 billion, government data showed on January 3.