Rupee falls 66 paise to 81.57 against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated 66 paise to 81.57 against the U.S. dollar in early trade. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The rupee depreciated 66 paise to 81.57 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Wednesday, tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and a muted trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.41 against the dollar, then lost ground to quote at 81.57, registering a loss of 66 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee appreciated 37 paise to close at 80.91 against the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.17% to 106.58.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.36% to $93.52 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 72.09 points or 0.12% down at 61,800.90, and the broader NSE Nifty was trading lower by 24.60 points or 0.13% to 18,378.80.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in capital markets as they offloaded shares worth ₹221.32 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, India’s exports entered negative territory after a gap of about two years, declining sharply by 16.65% to $29.78 billion in October. Trade deficit widened to $26.91 billion, according to data released by the commerce ministry on Tuesday.