Rupee falls 18 paise to 86.88 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 18 paise to 86.88 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as month-end dollar demand and sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit.
Forex traders said the domestic unit traded with a negative bias as the demand for dollars from importers continued to keep the American unit well bid against the rupee.
Moreover, a muted trend in domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows further dented investors' sentiments, they said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 86.76 and then touched an early low of 86.88 against the American currency, registering a fall of 18 paise over its previous close.
On Monday, the rupee had settled at 86.70 against the dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose marginally by 0.01 per cent to 98.64.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, went up by 0.04 per cent to USD 70.07 per barrel in futures trade, as developing trade agreements eased tariff concerns and boosted future energy demands.
The rupee opened on a weaker note and could fall to one-month low of 86.90 this week, said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
"RBI seems to be protecting the rupee intermittently but has allowed the fall in slow and steady way. Equities have also not been rupee-supportive," he said.
Meanwhile, in the domestic equity market, Sensex was trading 51.09 points or 0.06 per cent higher at 80,942.11, while Nifty rose 18.30 points or 0.07 per cent to 24,699.20.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,082.47 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Niqab incident: Nitish Kumar perhaps revealing his true colours, says J-K CM
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday criticised his Bihar counterpart over the niqab incident and said that Nitish Kumar might be slowly revealing his true nature.
"Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.
Abdullah said Kumar removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means.
"We have seen this kind of incident here several years ago. Have you forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti removed the burqa of a legitimate voter inside a polling station? That act was wrong, and this act (of Kumar) is also wrong.
"If the (Bihar) chief minister did not want to hand over the order to her (Muslim woman), they could have kept her aside. However, to humiliate her like this is totally wrong," the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Kumar stirred a huge controversy after he removed the face veil of a Muslim woman at a function earlier this week.
