Rupee falls 7 paise to 83.84 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, Aug 21 (PTI) The Indian rupee depreciated by 7 paise to 83.84 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, tracking subdued domestic equity market trend and unabated outflow of foreign capital.

A weak American currency and lower crude prices, however, supported the local unit and prevented its sharp fall, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 83.79 and lost further to 83.84 against the greenback, declining 7 paise from its previous days’ closing level of 83.77.

The rupee settled 10 paise higher at 83.77 against the American currency on Tuesday, a day after gaining 8 paise.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally higher by 0.02 per cent to 101.31.

Analysts said the dollar index is at seven-month low level amid concerns over upcoming PMI data from the US and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole Symposium later this week.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.17 per cent to USD 77.07 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 24.50 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 80,778.36 points. The Nifty was almost flat at 24,699.55 points.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday, offloading shares worth Rs 1,457.96 crore, according to exchange data.