Rupee slips 12 paise to close at 77.66 against US dollar amid surging crude

The rupee depreciated 12 paise to close at 77.66 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking a negative trend in domestic equities and surging crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 77.65 against the greenback and finally settled at 77.66, down 12 paise over its previous close.

During the session, the rupee touched an intra-day low of 77.70 and a high of 77.62.

On Monday, the rupee settled at 77.54 against the US dollar.

This is also the fifth straight monthly decline for the rupee amid weak risk sentiments, foreign fund outflows and concerns over high inflation.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 101.70.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 1.77 per cent to USD 123.82 per barrel.

According to Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, the rupee has become the worst-performing currency among Asian currencies and clocked the fifth monthly decline in a row in May on the back of foreign fund outflows and slower economic growth.

"Risk sentiments remained weak on worries over hawkish central banks following higher inflation and slower growth prospectus," Parmar said.

However, the dollar index, the basket of six currencies, retreated after making a multi-year high at 105 as the rest of the global central banks started playing catch-up with Fed policy, which has taken some steam out of the dollar's rally, Parmar noted.

Investors will await the Q4 GDP and monthly fiscal deficit data for further cues, traders said.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 359.33 points or 0.64 per cent lower at 55,566.41, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 76.85 points or 0.46 per cent to 16,584.55.

Foreign institutional investors turned net buyers as they purchased shares worth Rs 502.08 crore on Monday, as per stock exchange data.