Rupee falls 7 paise to 82.25 against US dollar

Mumbai, Jul 31 (PTI) The rupee depreciated 7 paise to 82.25 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, tracking a strong American currency and outflow of foreign funds from domestic equity markets.

Elevated level of crude prices crossing USD 84 a barrel and subdued sentiment in the domestic equity markets also weighed on the Indian currency, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.23, then touched a high of 82.21 against the American currency. It later traded at 82.25, registering a fall of 7 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had settled at 82.18 against the dollar.

According to experts, traders were also upbeat on dollar on the back of positive macroeconomic data from the US and robust sentiment in the global markets.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.14 per cent to 101.77.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.53 per cent lower at USD 84.54 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 120.58 points or 0.18 per cent lower at 66,039.62. The broader NSE Nifty declined 34.50 points or 0.18 per cent to 19,611.55.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,023.91 crore, according to exchange data.