Rupee Falls to 83.14 vs US Dollar: FII Selling, Equity Gains

Mumbai, Jan 19 (PTI) The rupee fell 1 paisa to 83.14 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday amid heavy selling of equities by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs).

Forex traders said positive cues from domestic equity markets and lower level of dollar provided support to the Indian currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 83.15, then slipped to 83.16 before trading at 83.14 against the greenback in morning deals, down 1 paisa from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee settled 1 paisa higher at 83.13 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.19 per cent lower at 103.12 on Friday.

Analysts said the dollar index retreated after the US macroeconomic data reflected steady growth in the country, trimming financial markets' expectations of reducing interest rate by the Federal Reserve.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.27 per cent to USD 78.89 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 647.57 points, or 0.90 per cent, higher at 71,834.43. The broader NSE Nifty rose 193.75 points, or 0.90 per cent, to 21,656.00.

FIIs were net sellers in the equity market on Thursday as they sold shares worth Rs 9,901.56 crore, according to exchange data.