Rupee falls 8 paise to 95.38 against US dollar in early trade
The rupee fell 8 paise to 95.38 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, Aug 11 amid no breakthrough in the ongoing West Asia crisis, which kept global markets on edge and pushed up crude oil prices overnight.
A decline in domestic equity markets kept pressure on the local unit, while FII inflows and intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) provided support, preventing a further slide, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.38 against the US dollar and held that level till the time of publishing. It had declined 13 paise to settle at 95.30 on Monday.
"The rupee traded in a relatively narrow range (on Monday) despite Brent rising towards USD 84. The downside was contained by RBI intervention, with state-run banks reportedly selling dollars on the central bank's behalf," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP. "Today Brent has gone past USD 87 per barrel as Iran and the US continue to harbour the Strait of Hormuz uncertainty amid fading hopes of a deal happening soon," he added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index was trading at 99.77, down 0.04 per cent, while Brent crude was trading 0.06 per cent lower at USD 87.67 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity front, the Sensex declined 320.14 points to 78,204.40, while the Nifty fell 94.35 points to 24,490.85. Foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 1,974.76 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.
