Rupee slips 8 paise to close at ₹77.76 against U.S. dollar

The rupee depreciated by 8 paise to close at ₹77.76 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, weighed down by elevated crude oil prices and persistent foreign capital outflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at ₹77.74 against the greenback and finally settled at ₹77.76, down 8 paise over its previous close.

During the session, the rupee touched an all-time low of ₹77.81 against the American currency.

On Wednesday, the rupee had recovered from its record low to close 10 paise higher at ₹77.68.

“Volatility in rupee remained low even after the release of RBI policy statement,” said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday raised the key interest rate by 50 basis points, the second increase in five weeks, to rein in the rise in prices that it saw continuing to hurt consumers in the near-term.

The rate hike comes on the back of a 40 bps increase by the RBI at an unscheduled meeting on May 4.

“Major crosses remain under pressure following broader strength in the dollar. Focus will be on the European Central Bank (ECB) policy statement and hawkish comments could restrict major weakness for the Euro,” Somaiya said, adding, “We expect the USDINR to trade sideways and quote in the range of 77.40 and 78.05.” Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.06% lower at 102.48.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.23% to $123.29 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth ₹2,484.25 crore, as per stock exchange data.