The rupee fell 31 paises against the US dollar on March 21 to close at 76.15 (prelim) as rising crude oil prices and a lackluster performance in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiment.
In the interbank FX market, the rupee opened at 76.08 against the US currency and then continued to fall to settle at 76.15, down 31 paise from the previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee shot up 37 paise to close at 75.84 against the US dollar.
The forex market was closed on Friday for Holi.
“The dollar is in rally mode as markets anticipate an even tighter Federal Reserve. Weakness in domestic equities and higher crude oil prices weighed on the local unit as well,” said Dilip Parmar, research analyst at HDFC Securities.
Mr Parmar went on to say that there are a handful of economic events this week and the focus will remain on the Ukraine-Russia peace talks which will drive risk sentiment and crude oil prices.
“Spot USD/INR has strong support at 75.70 and resistance at 76.45,” noted Mr. Parmar.
Amid the deepening conflict between Russia and Ukraine, investors assessed diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the war.
The US dollar has recovered from recent falls after Federal Reserve officials said the central bank may need to act more aggressively to deal with inflation.
The Dollar Index, which measures the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, traded 0.03% lower to 98.20.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 3.47% to $111.68 a barrel.
In the domestic stock market, the 30-piece Sensex ended 571.44 points, or 0.99%, lower at 57,292.49, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 169.45 points, or 0.98%, to 17,117.60.
Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market on Thursday as they bought shares worth 2,800.14 crore, according to stock market data.
