Rupee falls 15 paise to 83.34 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee declined 15 paise to settle at 83.34 against the US dollar on Wednesday due to sustained outflow of foreign funds and increased demand for American currency from importers and banks.
According to forex traders, a robust buying trend in the domestic equity market failed to boost sentiment as investors remained concerned over volatile crude oil prices, fearing disruption in global trade through the Red Sea route.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 83.21 and traded between the peak of 83.20 and the lowest level of 83.35 against the dollar during intra-day deals. The local unit finally settled at 83.34 against the greenback, registering a fall of 15 paise from its previous close.
On Tuesday, the domestic currency settled at 83.19 against the dollar.
Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said the Indian rupee depreciated on dollar demand from foreign banks and importers.
"FII outflows also weighed on the rupee. However, positive domestic markets and the weak tone in the US dollar cushioned the downside," he said but added that the rupee is likely to trade with a slight negative bias on month-end dollar demand from oil marketing companies and importers.
"USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83 to Rs 83.70," he said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally lower at 101.07 on Wednesday.
Global oil price benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.16 per cent to USD 80.94 per barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 701.63 points or 0.98 per cent to settle at a fresh peak of 72,038.43 points. The broader NSE Nifty soared 213.40 points or 1 per cent to 21,654.75 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,926.05 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
According to Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, the dollar index's weakness has generally kept the rupee stable within this range.
"However, the broader trend is a gradual decline over the past few months, with the RBI providing support around the 83.40-83.50 zones. The global holiday week shall keep range bound volatility continued with range break possible on lower side likely in coming sessions," Trivedi said.
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Odisha: Two girls drown while bathing in village pond
Berhampur (Odisha) (PTI): Two girls drowned while bathing in a village pond in Odisha's Ganjam district on Tuesday, police said.
The deceased were identified as Pranjali Dora (11), a class 6 student, and Manini Dora (12), a student of class 7, both residents of Patanda village in Digapahandi police station area, a police officer said.
After returning home from school, they went to the village pond to take a bath like every other day. However, they slipped and fell into deep waters. Locals noticed them drowning and tried to rescue them but failed, he said.
Fire brigade personnel from Digapahandi retrieved the girls after a two-hour search and they were rushed to a nearby community health centre, where doctors declared them dead, Digapahandi police station officer-in-charge Kishor Kumar Samal said.
He said the bodies have been handed over to the respective families after conducting post-mortem examinations at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here.
He said unnatural death cases have been registered and an investigation launched.
