Rupee falls: The rupee fell by 8 paise to 82.88 against the US dollar in morning trade on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates and maintained a firm stance.
At the interbank forex, the domestic unit opened at 82.87 against the dollar, then lost further ground to bid at 82.88, recording a loss of 8 paise over its previous close. The local unit also touched 82.84 against the US currency in early trade.
On Wednesday, the rupee had closed at 82.80 against the US currency. According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors, the US Fed’s remarks were not at all indifferent. “Oil was at US$95.50 a barrel, while GBP and the euro were lower after the Fed’s comments.”
Rupee can trade in the range of 82.50-83.20. “Exporters can sell dollar at 83 level keeping a close watch on RBI, while importers can continue to buy on all downsides,” Bhansali said. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.53 per cent to 111.94.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.38 per cent to $95.79 a barrel. In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 238.3 points or 0.39 down at 60,667.79 and the broader NSE Nifty was down 57.55 points or 0.32 per cent at 18,025.30.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they bought shares worth Rs 1,436.30 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Read also: The rupee has fallen by 6 paise to an all-time low of 83.06 against the US dollar.