Rupee Falls 5 Paise to 83.37 vs US Dollar - News

Mumbai, Nov 30 (PTI) The rupee on Thursday snapped a two-day rising streak to settle 5 paise lower at 83.37 against the US dollar amid strengthening American currency overseas and rising crude oil prices.

Forex analysts said the rupee remained under pressure as crude prices were close to USD 84 per barrel ahead of the announcement of the annual production target by oil producer grouping OPEC+.

Investors were also awaiting domestic GDP data to be released later in the day, while the recovery in the dollar attributed to rising expectations that the US Federal Reserve will not raise interest rate, they added.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.31 against the dollar and traded between the peak of 83.29 and the lowest level of 83.41 intra-day. It finally settled at 83.37 against the greenback, registering a loss of 5 paise over its previous close.

The rupee rose 2 paise to close at 83.32 against the US dollar on Wednesday, following a gain of 6 paise on Tuesday.

"Rupee weakened...as the dollar index showed strength amid some FII selling in capital markets. The rise in the dollar index followed better-than-expected US GDP numbers for July-September, indicating faster growth in the largest economy.

"Market focus shifted to the evening's jobless data and pending home sale data, with expectations of weakness for the dollar due to higher jobless claims. The rupee's range is anticipated between 83.20-83.50," Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.42 per cent higher at 103.20.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures surged 1 per cent to USD 83.93 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex went up 86.53 points, or 0.13 per cent, to settle at 66,988.44 points. The Nifty advanced 36.55 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 20,133.15 points.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Thursday as they purchased shares worth Rs 8,147.85 crore, according to exchange data.