The rupee depreciated by 6 paise to close at 77.74 against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, weighed down by elevated crude oil prices and persistent foreign capital outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 77.74 against the greenback and tumbled to an all-time low of 77.81.
It finally settled at 77.74, 6 paise weaker than its previous close of 77.68.
“Major crosses remain under pressure following broader strength in the dollar,” said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. “Focus will be on the European Central Bank (ECB) policy statement and hawkish comments could restrict major weakness for the euro,” he said, adding, “We expect the USD-INR to trade sideways and quote in the range of 77.40 and 78.05.”
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.06% lower at 102.48.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.23% to $123.29 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 427.79 points, or 0.78%, to 55,320.28, while the broader NSE Nifty surged 121.85 points, or 0.74%, to 16,478.10.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,512.64 crore, as per stock exchange data.
Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, said, “Rupee traded in a range-bound session between 77.70-77.80 as the prices of crude traded volatile”.
“Crude prices above $125 will unsettle the broad markets and volatility will increase along with fund outflows from domestic markets. Hence, pressure on the rupee will increase if crude starts trading and settling above $125. Rupee can be seen in a range of 77.55-77.95 till then,” he noted.
