Rupee falls 31 paise to 81.89 in early trade

The rupee depreciated 31 paise to 81.89 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 weighed down by a rebound in American currency and firm crude oil prices.

Sustained foreign fund outflows further dented investor sentiments, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 81.79 against the dollar, then fell to 81.89, registering a decline of 31 paise over its last close.

In the previous session on Monday, the rupee settled at 81.58 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.18 per cent to 102.38.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.19 per cent to USD 84.62 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 280.06 points or 0.47 per cent higher at 60,373.03. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 44.90 points or 0.25 per cent to 17,939.75.

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 per cent to USD 34.48 billion in December 2022, mainly due to global headwinds, and the trade deficit widened to USD 23.76 billion during the same period.

Imports last month also declined 3.5 per cent to USD 58.24 billion as against USD 60.33 billion in the year-ago period.

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