Rupee slumps 10 paise to 76.67 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated 10 paise to 76.67 against the US dollar in the opening trade on Thursday, weighed down by the strength of the greenback and significant foreign fund outflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 76.60 against the American dollar, then lost ground to quote at 76.67, registering a fall of 10 paise from the last close.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled almost flat at 76.57 against the US dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.37% higher at 103.34.

Forex traders said there is risk aversion among investors amid mounting challenges posed by the indication of aggressive tightening by the US Fed and geopolitical uncertainties.

Moreover, the dollar index hovering at 103 is an indication of flight to safety. The buying of dollars is likely to continue in the near term and will drag down the local unit, they added.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 253.12 points or 0.45% higher at 57,072.51 points, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 79.40 points or 0.47% to 17,117.80 points.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 1.57% to USD 103.67 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,064.54 crore, as per stock exchange data.