Mumbai, Jan 24 (PTI) The rupee on Monday slumped by 19 paise to 74.62 (provisional) against the US 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 US 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 per cent 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 per cent up at 95.75.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.33 per cent to USD 88.18 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 1,545.67 points or 2.62 per cent lower at 57,491.51, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 468.05 points or 2.66 per cent to 17,149.10.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,148.58 crore, according to stock exchange data.
