After nine days of gains, the rupee slid 11 paise to 82.97 against the US dollar in early Tuesday trade. The dip was attributed to the strong US dollar globally and subdued sentiments in the equity market. While some foreign fund inflow supported the rupee, volatile crude oil prices weighed it down. Opening weak at 82.95 in initial trade, the rupee marked an 11-paise loss from its previous close.
Despite Monday’s gain of 9 paise, reaching 82.86 against the US dollar, this broke the nine-day upward streak. Over the last nine sessions, the rupee had added 46 paise since hitting 83.32 against the dollar on January 2. The dollar index, measuring the greenback against six major currencies, was trading 0.31% higher at 102.63 on Tuesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures saw a slight increase of 0.01% to USD 78.16 per barrel. In the domestic market, the 30-share BSE Sensex dipped 101.17 points (0.14%) to 73,226.77, while the NSE Nifty dropped 36.80 points (0.17%) to 22,060.65.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net equity buyers on Monday, investing Rs 1,085.72 crore. WPI-based inflation rose to 0.73% in December, mainly due to a surge in food prices, according to official data released Monday. The WPI had been in negative territory from April to October and turned positive in November at 0.26%.
Retail inflation reached a four-month high of 5.69% in December, and industrial production fell to an eight-month low of 2.4% in November, as per government data released on Friday. These economic indicators contribute to the overall market sentiment, impacting the rupee’s performance against the US dollar. The ongoing dynamics in global markets, coupled with domestic economic factors, continue to influence the rupee’s movement in early trade.
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