Representative image
The rupee depreciated by 10 paise to close at 81.74 against the US currency on Friday, marking its third straight day of losses amid a lacklustre trend in domestic equities and firming crude oil prices.
However, a weak dollar in the overseas markets restricted the loss, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened up at 81.59 and later erased all its early gains. During the session, it witnessed a high of 81.52 and a low of 81.78.
The domestic unit finally settled at 81.74 against the American currency, registering a fall of 10 paise over its previous close of 81.64.
The rupee logged its first weekly fall in four weeks due to weakness in Asian currencies. The rupee declined by 96 paise or 1.18 percent in the week to Friday.
“Rupee continued to trade in a narrow range and volatility remained low in the past few sessions. Despite the economic calendar being a little heavy, reaction on the rupee has been muted.
“The greenback gained momentum after as US Treasury yields increased and investors eyed hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials,” Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said.
Indian rupee depreciated for the third day in a row and marked the first weekly decline in four as the regional currencies depreciated against the US dollar. “Higher trade deficit numbers and the dollar outflows weighed on the rupee this week,” Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said.
In the near term, spot USD/INR is having resistance at 82.05 and support at 81.30, he added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.28 percent to 106.39.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.36 percent to $ 90.10 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 87.12 points or 0.14 percent to end at 61,663.48, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 36.25 points or 0.20 percent to 18,307.65.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in capital markets as they sold shares worth Rs 751.20 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
