Mumbai: The rupee depreciated by 12 paise to 79.90 against the US dollar in opening trade Tuesday, weighed down by strength of the American currency in the overseas market.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 79.80 against the greenback, then fell further to 79.90, registering a decline of 12 paise over its last close.
On Monday, the rupee appreciated 9 paise to close at 79.78 against the dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.08 per cent to 109.62.
The rupee opened at 79.80 as the dollar index eased slightly from 110 level. Moreover, the euro and British pound moved up after a big fall due to Russian gas issues, said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors.
“The US dollar was well bid as the rupee fell to 79.90 before recovering to 79.85 levels,” Bhansali said, adding that the range is expected to be between 79.50 to 80.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.80 per cent to USD 94.97 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 12.49 points or 0.02 per cent higher at 59,258.47, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 7.80 points or 0.04 per cent to 17,673.60.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 811.75 crore, as per exchange data.
