Mumbai: The Indian rupee ended 22 paise lower at 73.29 against the US dollar on Monday, sliding for the fifth straight session amid rising crude oil prices.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened on a negative note at 73.21 per dollar as against its previous close of 73.07.
It hovered in the range of 73.10 to 73.29 per dollar during the day before ending at 73.29 equalling its lowest level recorded a month ago.
The domestic unit has lost 49 paise in the last five trading sessions its longest losing streak in over two months.
“The Indian rupee depreciated for a 5th consecutive session against the US dollar, tracking the strong crude oil prices and weak Asian currencies,” said Sriram Iyer Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.
The rupee also was under some pressure this Monday tracking a rebound on the dollar index as investors’ adjusted positions ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting this week, he added.
Market participants will be cautious of a hawkish surprise that could at least temporarily lift the US dollar, Iyer said.
“The Indian rupee started the week on the back foot following a stronger dollar and higher crude oil prices. The greenback earmarked the short covering and the expiry of large positions ahead of this week’s FOMC meeting,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
Parmar further noted that “there are four IPOs this week, we could see inflows, which may limit the fall in rupee”.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.88 per cent to USD 73.33 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.06 per cent to 90.50.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 76.77 points, or 0.15 per cent higher at 52,551.53, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 12.50 points or 0.08 per cent to close at 15,811.85.
