Rupee settles 10 paise lower at 75.57 against US dollar

Mumbai:

The rupee depreciated 10 paise to provisionally close at 75.57 against the US dollar on Thursday as strengthening US dollar and weak domestic equities weighed on investor sentiment.

Forex traders said sustained foreign fund inflow and the revival of business activities supported the local unit, but concerns about US-China trade tiff dragged the local unit down.

The rupee opened weak at 75.62 at the interbank forex market, then gained some lost ground and settled for the day at 75.57 against the US dollar, down 10 paise over its last close.

It had settled at 75.47 against the US dollar on Wednesday.

During the trading session, the local currency touched an intra-day high of 75.38 and a low of 75.62 against the US dollar.

On the equities front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was quoting 198.45 points lower at 33,911.09 and broader Nifty fell 52.90 points to 10,008.65.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they bought equity shares worth Rs 1,851.12 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.11 per cent to USD 39.35 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.34 per cent to 97.60.