Rupee falls 19 paise to close at 95.61 against US dollar

MUMBAI: The rupee depreciated 19 paise to close at 95.61 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, amid weak domestic equity markets and a surge in crude oil prices.

Forex traders said the USD/INR pair is likely to trade with a slight negative bias, pressured by the delay in the deal between the US and Iran, rising crude oil prices and broader dollar support.

Moreover, investors' sentiment turned cautious after the Reserve Bank of India on August 14 said that its swap facility for FCNR (B) deposits will be available only for deposits mobilised till August 31.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.50 against the greenback and traded in a range of 95.49-95.62 during the session. It eventually settled at 95.61 (provisional), lower by 19 paise from its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee appreciated 3 paise to close at 95.42 against the US dollar.

Earlier, the cut-off date for Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) or FCNR (B) deposits was September 30.

Under the FCNR (B) scheme, banks offer attractive interest rates to mobilise foreign currency deposits.

The Reserve Bank on Friday said its concessional swap facility, introduced to encourage foreign currency inflows, has attracted USD 56.84 billion till August 13.

The Indian rupee declined on weak domestic markets and a surge in crude oil prices. However, a soft dollar cushioned the downside, Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan said, adding, "we expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on delay in the deal between the US and Iran and rising crude oil prices."

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.40, down 0.26 per cent.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.99 per cent at USD 89.40 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex dropped 281.09 points to settle at 77,728.16, while the Nifty closed lower by 78.35 points at 24,287.65.

Foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 508.12 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped USD 14.136 billion to USD 707.002 billion during the week ended August 7, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. The overall kitty had jumped by USD 10.512 billion to USD 692.866 billion in the previous reporting week ended July 31.