Rupee falls 4 paise to close at new low of 82.34 against US dollar

The rupee pared most of its initial losses and settled 4 paise lower at a fresh lifetime low of 82.34 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, weighed down by as risk-averse sentiment among investors.

Moreover, a negative trend in domestic equities and a firm greenback overseas sapped investor appetite, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 82.68, then fell further to an all-time intra-day low of 82.69.

According to forex traders, the local unit pared initial losses on possible central bank intervention and finally settled for the day at an all-time low of 82.34 against the American currency, down 4 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had depreciated by 13 paise to close at 82.30.

"The Indian rupee pared opening losses on possible central bank intervention and corporate inflows... lower crude oil prices also supported the rupee in today's session," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

However, the directional trend remains bearish for the rupee amid tighter liquidity conditions and risk-averse sentiments, Parmar said, adding, "Spot USD-INR is having near-term resistance at 82.90 and support at 81.95."

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.23 per cent to 113.05.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.71 per cent to USD 97.22 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 200.18 points or 0.34 per cent to end at 57,991.11, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 73.65 points or 0.43 per cent to 17,241.00.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,250.77 crore, as per exchange data.