Indian rupee depreciates 17 paise to 81.84 against US dollar

The rupee fell 17 paise to 81.84 versus the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, following weak domestic equities ahead of US inflation data. The focus will be on the US October CPI data scheduled to be released later on Thursday, according to FX traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 81.61 versus the dollar, then fell further ground to quote at 81.64, a 17-paise drop from its previous close.

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The rupee gained 45 paise to settle at 81.47 against the US dollar on Wednesday.

“A poorer-than-expected show by the Republicans in the midterms is hurting sentiment. Republicans are likely to take over control of the House with a narrower margin than earlier expected and the Senate race is still wide open,” IFA Global Research Academy said in a research note.

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It further added that Fed member Neel Kashkari said the Fed would do what it needs to do to lower inflation and that any talk of a Fed pivot is entirely premature.

The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, decreased by 0.26% to 110.26.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.06% to USD 92.71 per barrel.

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Asian currencies and shares were mostly lower ahead of the data which will have a significant influence on what the US Federal Reserve is likely to do at its next policy meeting in December. Oil prices were marginally changed, taking a breather after three days of losses.

In the domestic equity market, the Sensex was trading 412.38 points or 0.68% down at 60,621.17. The Nifty fell 95.30 points or 0.52% to 18,061.70.

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According to stock exchange data, foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in capital markets as they purchased shares worth Rs 386.83 crore on Wednesday.