The rupee fell 23 paises to close at 76.14 (prelim) against the US dollar on Tuesday, following strong US currency in overseas markets and a negative trend in domestic stocks.
Forex traders said investors are trading cautiously while waiting for inflation data.
In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 76.05 against the US currency and was trading at 76.14, down 23 paise from the previous close.
During the trading session, the rupee saw daily highs of 75.97 and lows of 76.17 against the American currency.
On Monday, the rupee edged up to 75.91 against the US dollar.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, traded 0.17% higher to 100.10.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 3.17% to $101.60 a barrel.
“In line with regional currencies, the Indian rupee traded lower after overnight bond yields rose, prompting dollar-denominated haven buying,” said Dilip Parmar, research analyst at HDFC Securities.
Additionally, Mr Parmar said that the recovery in crude oil prices and weaker risk appetite also weighed on the rupee ahead of the inflation data.
“Spot USD-INR is in congestion mode as traders are in wait and watch mode ahead of economic data. The pair faced strong resistance around 76.30 and support at 75.80,” added Mr. Parmar.
On the domestic stock market front, the 30-piece Sensex closed 388.20 points, or 0.66%, lower at 58,576.37 points, while the broader NSE Nifty tumbled 144.65 points, or 0.82%, to 17,530.30 points.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Monday, selling 1,145.24 crore of shares, according to stock market data.
