MUMBAI: The rupee ended 9 paise lower at 79.03 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as persistent foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment. Forex traders said weakness in crude oil prices is supporting the local unit.
However, concerns over inflation and growth India And globally praise can limit bias, he said. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened at 78.97 against the US dollar, then closed at 79.03, registering a decline of 9 paise over its previous close.
In the previous session, the rupee had closed at 78.94 against the US dollar on Friday. “Today is a US holiday so the cash demand for USD will be absent. Maybe we can see some lower level for the pair towards 78.80. Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors said, “Importers should take advantage of the downside and buy their next 10-15 days exposure and exporters can sell the upside till 79.20”.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 20.63 points or 0.04 per cent lower at 52,887.30, while the broader NSE nifty It fell 22.65 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 15,729.40. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was at 105.14.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.08 per cent to $111.54 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they sold shares worth Rs 2,324.74 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 2.734 billion to USD 593.323 billion for the week ended June 24.
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