The rupee opened lower at 75.88 against the US dollar, then tumbled further to trade at 75.99 before finally settling at 75.95
The rupee opened lower at 75.88 against the US dollar, then tumbled further to trade at 75.99 before finally settling at 75.95
The rupee fell 11 paise to close at 75.95 (prelim) against the US dollar on Thursday (preliminary) as the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance hurt investor sentiment in global markets and strengthened the US currency.
On the interbank foreign exchange exchange, the rupee opened lower at 75.88 against the US dollar, before slipping further to trade at 75.99. It eventually settled at 75.95, 11 paise below its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee fell 55 paise, its steepest one-day fall in a month, to close at a weekly low of 75.84 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the Dollar Index, which gauges the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, traded 0.04% higher to 99.64.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were up 1.52% to $102.61 a barrel.
“The rupee drifted towards a psychological 76 as the dollar heads towards a century after Fed officials switched from ultra-loose monetary policy to aggressive tightening,” said Dilip Parmar, research analyst at HDFC Securities.
The hawkish Fed bodes well for the dollar and pushed risky assets in emerging markets lower.
The near-term focus will remain on the RBI’s monetary policy stance, which has maintained an accommodative stance for the past 11 monetary policy meetings, Mr. Parmar added.
According to Parmar, the RBI is likely to keep its accommodative stance to support the economy but could revise inflation forecasts up and growth forecasts down. Spot USD/INR is expected to trade in the 76.25-75.80 range.
On the domestic stock market front, the 30-stock Sensex finished 575.46 points, or 0.97%, lower at 59,034.95, while the broader NSE Nifty plunged 168.10 points, or 0.94%, to 17,639.55.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, selling 2,279.97 crore of shares, according to stock market data.
