Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 8 paise to 82.88 against the US dollar in morning trade Thursday after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates and maintained a hawkish stance.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.87 against the dollar, then lost further ground to quote at 82.88, registering a loss of 8 paise over its previous close.
In initial trade, the local unit also touched 82.84 against the American currency.
On Wednesday, the rupee settled at 82.80 against the American currency.
According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors, the US Fed’s commentary was not dovish at all. “Oil was higher at USD 95.50 per barrel while GBP and Euro were lower after the hawkish FED comments.”
The rupee could trade in the range of 82.50-83.20. “Exporters may sell dollars at 83 levels keeping a close watch on RBI while importers may continue to buy all dips they get,” Bhansali said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.53 per cent to 111.94.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.38 per cent to USD 95.79 per barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 238.3 points or 0.39 down at 60,667.79 and the broader NSE Nifty fell 57.55 points or 0.32 per cent to 18,025.30.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,436.30 crore Wednesday, according to exchange data.
