Rupee falls 41 paise to 81.93 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated by 41 paise to close at 81.93 against the US dollar on Tuesday after the Economic Survey 2022-23 said the domestic unit may remain under pressure on account of plateauing of exports and subsequent widening of current account deficit.

Forex traders said significant foreign fund outflows and a muted trend in domestic equities also dented investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 81.61 against the dollar, and lost further ground to fall below the 82 per US dollar level. The rupee finally ended at 81.93, registering a decline of 41 paise over its last close.

During the session, the local unit witnessed an intra-day high of 81.58 and a low of 82.07 against the US dollar. In the previous session on Monday, the rupee settled at 81.52 against the American currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.15 per cent to 102.43.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.18 per cent to $83.90 per barrel.

Forex traders said investors are bracing for interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve, and the Union Budget for 2023-24, both scheduled to be announced on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex settle with a gain of 49.49 points or 0.08 per cent at 59,549.90. During the day, it hit a high of 59,787.63 and a low of 59,104.59.

The broader NSE Nifty inched up 13.20 points or 0.07 per cent to close at 17,662.15.

Mahindra & Mahindra topped the Sensex gainers' chart with a jump of 3.53 per cent, followed by UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, SBI, ITC, Tata Motors, Titan and

NTPC.

On the other hand, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, HCL Tech and HDFC were among the major laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 6,792.80 crore, according to exchange data.