The rupee depreciated by 10 paise to close at 77.60 (provisional) against the United States dollar on Thursday, even as oil prices eased and domestic equities settled on a positive note.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee consolidated in a narrow range. It opened lower at 77.61 against the greenback and finally settled at 77.60, down 10 paise over its previous close.
During the session, the rupee touched an intra-day low of 77.63 and a high of 77.54.
On Wednesday, the rupee had recovered from its record low to close 21 paise higher at 77.50.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.25% lower at 102.24.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 2.27% to $113.65 per barrel.
“Rupee continued to trade in a narrow range and volatility remained low despite marginal gains in domestic equities. Dollar rose against its major crosses after manufacturing PMI came in better-than-estimate,” said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Somaiya further said “we expect the USD-INR to trade sideways and quote in the range of 77.20 and 77.80.”
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 436.94 points or 0.79% higher at 55,818.11, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 105.25 points or 0.64% to 16,628.00.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,930.16 crore, as per stock exchange data.
