Rupee falls 4 paise to close at 81.97 against US dollar

Rupee falls 4 paise to close at 81.97 against US dollar

The rupee depreciated 4 paise to close at 81.97 (provisional) against the US dollar on July 21, weighed down by a rebound in the American currency and firm crude oil prices in global markets.

Besides, a negative trend in domestic equity benchmarks also dented investor sentiment, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.03 against the dollar and settled at 81.97 (provisional), down 4 paise from its previous close.

During the day, the rupee touched a high of 81.94 and a low of 82.05 against the greenback.

On July 20, the rupee had settled at 81.93 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.12 per cent to 101.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 1.11 per cent to USD 80.52 per barrel.

"The greenback has extended a run of gains against major currencies ahead of next week's big three central bank's policy decision," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

In the coming week, the forex market is expected to be volatile since US Fed, ECB, and BoJ rate decisions will be announced, along with month-end adjustments.

"Spot USD/INR has strong support at 81.75 and resistance at 82.30. In accordance with the derivative data, the pair is expected to settle at around 82 by the end of July," Parmar added.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 887.64 points or 1.31 per cent lower at 66,684.26 points. The broader NSE Nifty declined 234.15 points or 1.17 per cent at 19,745.00 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on July 20 as they purchased shares worth Rs 3,370.90 crore, according to exchange data. PTI DRR BAL BAL