Rupee plunges 32 paise to close at 73.42 against US dollar

The rupee plunged by 32 paise to close at 73.42 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking a strong American currency in the overseas market and muted trend in domestic equities.

Forex traders said the fall in the domestic unit was in line with other Asian peers.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 73.12 and dropped to a low of 73.44 in the day trade.

The domestic unit finally settled at 73.42 against the greenback, down 32 paise over its previous close. On Monday, the local unit settled at 73.10 against the greenback.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.22 per cent higher at 92.23.

According to Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, the rupee depreciated in line with other Asian currencies.

"Profit booking in domestic equities, after touching lifetime high, and dollar outflows weighed on rupee. Traders expecting dollar outflow related to dividend from a steel company and central bank's intervention could add pressure on the local currency," Parmar said.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.01 per cent to USD 72.21 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 17.43 points or 0.03 per cent lower at 58,279.48, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 15.70 points or 0.09 per cent to 17,362.10.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 589.36 crore, according to the exchange data.