Rupee depreciates 15 paise to 82.64 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated 15 paise to 82.64 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hike and its hawkish stance dented investor sentiments.

A strong dollar against key rivals overseas and losses in the domestic equity markets sapped risk appetite, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened sharply lower at 82.63 against the dollar, then slipped further to 82.64, a decline of 15 paise over its previous close.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the rupee settled 11 paise higher at 82.49 against the US dollar.

The US Fed on Wednesday increased interest rates by 50 basis points on expected lines and signalled more hikes ahead to fight inflation. The US central bank raised the interest rate to 4.25-4.50 per cent to the highest level in 15 years.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.08 per cent to 103.85.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.69 per cent to USD 82.13 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 120.64 points or 0.19 per cent lower at 62,557.27. The broader NSE Nifty fell 52.30 points or 0.28 per cent to 18,660.30.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in capital markets on Wednesday as they bought shares worth Rs 372.16 crore, according to exchange data.