Rupee falls 20 paise to 95.95 against US dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee depreciated 20 paise to 95.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, as the greenback strengthened further and foreign fund outflows continued unabated amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.

Forex traders said elevated global crude oil prices put further pressure on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.89 against the American currency and lost further ground to touch 95.95 against the American currency, registering a loss of 20 paise from its previous closing level.

On Friday, the rupee appreciated 24 paise to close at 95.75 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, traded at 101.11, up 0.15 per cent.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading higher by 2.31 per cent at USD 106.81 per barrel in futures trade.

"Despite the Brent oil for November series being higher due to US President Donald Trump rejecting the peace proposal from Iran, the rupee is set to open at around 95.80 and is expected to remain in the range of 95.50 to 96.00 with the RBI continuing to hold the 96.00 of the range," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

Bhansali said Brent remained firmly elevated above the USD 100 mark, continuing to pose an underlying threat to India's import bill and foreign exchange reserves.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tanked 730 points to 73,170.12 in early trade, while the Nifty dropped 231.50 points to 22,908.95.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,693.93 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India's forex reserves dropped USD 14.881 billion to USD 765.901 billion during the week ended September 18 due to a fall in foreign currency assets, according to the RBI data released on Friday.