Rupee falls 15 paise to close at 86.07 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee declined 15 paise to settle at 86.07 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday amid a stronger greenback, outflow of foreign funds and volatile global crude oil prices.

Selling trend in the domestic equity markets and uncertainties over the outcome of the ongoing India-US trade talks further pressured the rupee, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 85.93 against the US dollar and traded in the range of 85.80-86.09 during the day before settling at 86.07 (provisional), down 15 from its previous close.

The rupee had declined 16 paise against the US dollar to close at 85.92 on Wednesday.

"The strong dollar index kept rupee weak while fall in Asian currencies also did not help as rupee continued to depreciate towards 86 levels. Near-term premiums rose on the VRRR auctions by the RBI while one-year premiums were generally constant," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

"For tomorrow (Friday) we expect the range of 85.75 to 86.25 to continue with trade deals are the only things to be watched for," he said.

An Indian commerce ministry team is in Washington for another round of talks on the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement. The four-day talks, which started on Monday, are expected to conclude on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump has said the proposed trade deal with India would be on the lines of what America has finalised with Indonesia on Tuesday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was marginally down by 0.06 per cent to USD 68.48 per barrel in futures trade.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.25 per cent to 98.63.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex fell 375.24 points to settle at 82,259.24, while Nifty was down 100.60 points to 25,111.45.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 1,858.15 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.