The rupee on Monday settled 22 paise lower at a new lifetime low of 79.48 (provisional) against the US dollar, beating the strong greenback and domestic equities overseas. However, a fall in crude oil prices in the international market limited the losses to the rupee, forex traders said.
In the interbank forex market, the local unit opened weak against the greenback at 79.30 and saw intra-day highs of 79.24 and 79.49 lows. It finally closed at 79.48 (provisional), 22 paise lower than its previous close of 79.26. The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.56 per cent to 107.60.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 86.61 points or 0.16 per cent lower at 54,395.23, while the broader NSE Nifty ended 4.60 points or per cent lower at 0.03. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 1.43 per cent to $105.49 a barrel.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they sold shares worth Rs 109.31 crore, according to exchange data. Foreign investors have pulled out more than Rs 4,000 crore so far this month amid the continued strength of the dollar and rising interest rates in the US. However, the selling momentum of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) has declined in the past few weeks.
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