Rupee falls 16 paise to 82.21 against US dollar

The rupee depreciated 16 paise to 82.21 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, pulled down by the strength of the American currency on the back of a hawkish US Federal Reserve.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.16, then fell to 82.21, registering a decline of 16 paise over its last close amid a negative trend in domestic equities.

On Wednesday, the rupee settled at 82.05 against the dollar helped by robust macro fundamentals, FII inflows and a weak greenback against major rivals overseas.

Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP said the rupee had hit 81.90 in the offshore before falling back to 82.21 on Thursday morning on a hawkish FED.

"The US FED held on to interest rates at 5-5.25 per cent but gave a hawkish commentary of two more rate hikes during the year taking the dollar index to 103.20," Bhansali said.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.32 per cent to 103.27.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.20 per cent to USD 73.05 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 111.24 points or 0.18 per cent lower at 63,117.27. The broader NSE Nifty declined 20.30 points or 0.11 per cent to 18,735.60.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,714.72 crore, according to exchange data.