The rupee fell 66 paise to 81.57 against the US dollar in early trade. file | Photo Credit: Reuters
The rupee depreciated 66 paise to 81.57 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and a muted trend in domestic equities.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.41 against the dollar, then settled at 81.57, registering a loss of 66 paise over its previous close.
On Tuesday, the rupee strengthened by 37 paise to close at 80.91 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.17% to 106.58.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.36% to $93.52 a barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 72.09 points or 0.12% lower at 61,800.90, and the broader NSE Nifty was down 24.60 points or 0.13% at 18,378.80.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 221.32 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, India’s exports entered negative territory after a gap of nearly two years, declining sharply by 16.65% to $29.78 billion in October. The trade deficit widened to $26.91 billion, according to data released by the commerce ministry on Tuesday.