The rupee slips 11 paise to close at 76.55 against the US dollar

Business

The rupee fell 11 paise to close at 76.55 (prelim) against the US dollar on Monday as crude oil prices eased and foreign funds outflows.

High inflation also hurt market sentiment, forex traders said.

However, a rally in stock markets limited the rupee’s decline, they added.

In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 76.63 against the US dollar. It gained some good ground during the session but remained in negative territory as investors turned to safe-haven assets.

During the day it oscillated between a high of 76.52 and a low of 76.69.

The local unit ended up trading at 76.55 against the dollar, down 11 paise from the previous close.

Uncertainty about the war in Ukraine and persistently high inflation kept investors away from riskier assets, traders said.

Wholesale price-based inflation rose to 13.11% in February as crude oil and non-food items prices hardened, although grocery items weakened.

After two months of mild easing, WPI inflation accelerated in February and remained in double digits for the 11th consecutive month as of April 2021.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, traded 0.39% lower to 98.79.

On the domestic stock market front, the 30-piece Sensex finished 935.72 points, or 1.68%, higher at 56,486.02, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 240.85 points, or 1.45%, to 16,871.30.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were down 3.28% to $108.97 a barrel.

Overseas institutional investors continued their selling spree in Indian markets as they sold ₹2,263.90 crore of shares on a net basis, according to stock market data on Friday.

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