Rupee falls 8 paise to close at 82.32 against US dollar

The rupee depreciated 8 paise to close at 82.32 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, as a firm American currency and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 82.26 and finally settled at 82.32 against the American currency, registering a decline of 8 paise over its previous close.

During the day, the local unit witnessed a high of 82.12 and a low of 82.43 against the greenback.

On Thursday, the local currency had settled at 82.24 against the US dollar.

“Rupee weakened a bit against the dollar in the wake of a hotter-than-expected inflation number that was released on Thursday,” said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The US CPI was reported at 8.2 per cent against expectations of 8.3 per cent, whereas Core CPI was higher at 6.6 per cent.

ECB officials mentioned that they see the need for fewer rate hikes than expected to calm the inflationary pressure, Somaiya said, adding that “we expect the USD/INR (Spot) to quote in the range of 82.10 and 82.6”.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.56 per cent to 112.99.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.75 per cent to USD 93.86 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 684.64 points or 1.20 per cent to end at 57,919.97, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 171.35 points or 1.01 per cent to 17,185.70.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,636.43 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.