Rupee falls 15 paise to close at 82.33 against US dollar

Mumbai, May 15 (PTI) The rupee fell 15 paise to close at 82.33 (provisional) against the US currency on Monday, weighed down by the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.22 against the dollar and settled for the day at 82.33 (provisional), down 15 paise from its previous close.

During the day, the rupee witnessed a high of 82.18 and a low of 82.37 against the greenback.
On Friday, the rupee settled at 82.18 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.11 per cent to 102.56.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.24 per cent to USD 74.35 per barrel.

“The Indian rupee started the week on a sour note following strength in the US dollar after Friday’s economic data,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, India’s WPI contracted for the first time in almost three years and CPI eased to the slowest pace since October 2021.

According to official data, India’s WPI inflation has been on a declining trend for the last 11 months and came in at (-) 0.92 per cent in April. Retail inflation came in at an 18-month low of 4.70 per cent.

“All eyes will be on US President Joe Biden’s meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders on Tuesday. In the near-term, spot USDINR has resistance at 82.50 and support at 82. The bias is favourable for dollar bulls,” Parmar added.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 317.81 points or 0.51 per cent higher at 62,345.71. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 84.05 points or 0.46 per cent to 18,398.85.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Friday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,014.06 crore, according to exchange data.