Rupee falls 14 paise to 92.42 against US dollar in early trade

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Mumbai, March 17 

The rupee lost 14 paise and traded at 92.42 against the US dollar in early deals on Tuesday, as it failed to resist pressure from rising crude oil prices and the incessant withdrawal of foreign funds amid the heightened West Asia crisis.

Subdued domestic equity markets and elevated American currency also weighed on the local unit even as investors moved cautiously, awaiting the interest rate decision of the US Federal Reserve, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 92.35 and fell further to trade at 92.42 against the US dollar, registering a 14-paise decline from its previous closing level.

The local unit ended Monday’s session with a marginal gain of 2 paise at 92.28 against the dollar.

The rupee, one of the worst-performing Asian currencies, touched its lowest intra-day level of 92.47 at the end of the previous week before closing the session at 92.30 against the dollar, its lowest-ever closing level until Friday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.19 per cent higher at 99.65.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 2.68 per cent at USD 102.87 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex declined 91.62 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 75,411.23 in early trade, while the Nifty fell 34.25 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 23,374.55.

The latest government data released on Monday showed the country’s trade deficit narrowed to USD 27.1 billion in February compared to January.

Merchandise exports dropped marginally by 0.81 per cent to USD 36.61 billion, while imports increased by 24.11 per cent to USD 63.71 billion in February this year from USD 51.33 billion recorded a year ago.

Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 9,365.52 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.

PTI