Rupee appreciates 18 paise to 82.17 per US dollar on easing crude prices

Mumbai:

The rupee appreciated 18 paise to 82.17 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday tracking a fall in crude oil prices. Forex traders said continued outflow of foreign funds and weak trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiment and restricted the appreciation bias.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.20 against the dollar, then recovered to 82.17, registering a rise of 18 paise from its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee had closed at 82.35 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.21 per cent to 103.21.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.49 per cent to USD 79.26 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 353.74 points or 0.58 per cent lower at 60,393.57. The broader NSE Nifty fell 82.55 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 18,018.65.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Monday, selling shares worth Rs 203.13 crore, according to exchange data.

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