Image has been used for representation purpose only. , Photo credit: V Sudarshan
The rupee depreciated 25 paise to close at 82.46 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by firmness in crude oil prices and a negative trend in domestic equities.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.44 against the dollar, then declined to 82.46, registering a decline of 25 paise over its previous close.
Rupee on Friday 82.21 against the dollar,
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.48% to 102.99.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 5.50% to $84.28 a barrel.
“…the strength in rupee will be limited to 81.50-81.80 zone where importers can target buying and will remain protected towards 82.70-82.90 zone for this week,” said Amit Pabri, MD, CR Forex Advisors.
“With the short holiday week, RBI policy due on April 6 and US payrolls due on April 7 will be,” Mr Pabari said.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank will meet for three days on April 3, 5 and 6 to take into account various domestic and global factors before coming out with the first bi-monthly monetary policy for the financial year 2023-24. ,
The RBI has increased the repo rate by a total of 250 basis points since May to curb inflation, though keeping it above the central bank’s comfort zone of 6% most of the time.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 64.56 points or 0.11% lower at 58,926.96. The broader NSE Nifty fell 9.60 points, or 0.06%, to 17,350.15.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Friday as they bought shares worth ₹357.86 crore, according to exchange data.