Rupee declines 13 paise to 82.75 against dollar

Mumbai, Dec 20 (PTI) The rupee depreciated 13 paise to settle at 82.75 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday as investors turned cautious in view of a negative trend in domestic equities and rising crude prices in the global markets.

Besides, renewed forex outflows and a waning appetite for riskier assets also dragged down the local unit, forex dealers said.

However, a sharp decline in the greenback against major rivals overseas restricted the rupee’s loss, they added.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened weak at 82.69 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 82.69 and a low of 82.88.

It finally ended at 82.75 against the American currency, a decline of 13 paise over its previous close of 82.62.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 103.90 points or 0.17 per cent lower at 61,702.29, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 35.15 points or 0.19 per cent to 18,385.30.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.73 per cent to USD 80.38 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.74 per cent to 103.95.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 538.10 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, gold prices rose Rs 38 to Rs 54,740 per 10 grams in the national capital on Tuesday, according to HDFC Securities.