Rupee falls 7 paise to 82.11 against US dollar

The rupee depreciated 7 paise to 82.11 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, weighed down by firm crude oil prices and a negative trend in domestic equities.

Forex traders said foreign fund outflows and strengthening of the American currency in the overseas market dented investor sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.10 against the dollar, then fell to 82.11, registering a decline of 7 paise over its last close.

On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 82.04 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.04 per cent to 101.78.

Oil prices

The Oil prices on Wednesday rose due to strong Chinese economic data, strengthening fuel demand and decreasing US crude inventories. Brent crude futures went up 7 cents to $84.84 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate US crude jumped by 3 cents to $80.89 per barrel.

The USDINR pair is holding well above 82.00 mark and waiting for the fresh triggers to mark its move past 82.20 levels, CR Forex Advisors MD-Amit Pabari said.

Pabari further added that widening deficits, rising oil prices, and squeezing interest rate differentials between US and India set a floor for fresh rounds of outflows from the Indian bond market.

Stock markets

The markets on Wednesday opened in red with Sensex at 59,660.31, down by 66.7 points and Nifty slipped by 6.40 points at 17,653.35. Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were the top gainers whereas Maruti, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank and ITC were the top losers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 810.60 crore, according to exchange data.

With inputs from PTI