Rupee falls by 19 paise to 74.62 against U.S. dollar

The rupee on Monday slumped by 19 paise to 74.62 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar at close due to high crude oil prices, forex outflows and heavy losses in domestic equities amid growing geo-political worries.

Forex traders said the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and weak appetite for riskier assets also dragged down the local unit.

Moreover, market participants are now eyeing the U.S. Fed’s January 25-26 meeting for further cues.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 74.43 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.42 and a low of 74.69 during the session.

The rupee finally settled at 74.62, down 19 paise or 0.26% over its previous close of 74.43.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.12% up at 95.75.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.33% to $88.18 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 1,545.67 points or 2.62% lower at 57,491.51, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 468.05 points or 2.66% to 17,149.10.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth ₹ 3,148.58 crore, according to stock exchange data.