Rupee falls 2 paise to close at 84.49 against US dollar

The rupee fell 2 paise to close at 84.49 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, dragged down by significant foreign fund outflows and month-end dollar demand from importers.

Forex traders said that dollar demand from importers weighed on the rupee. However, positive domestic markets and a correction in crude oil prices cushioned the downside.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.49 and touched the lowest level of 84.50 against the greenback during intra-day. The unit ended the session at 84.49 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a fall of 2 paise over its previous close.

The rupee hit its lowest-ever closing level of 84.50 on November 21.

On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 7 paise to close at 84.47 against the US dollar.

"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on the strong dollar and geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Any surge in crude oil prices amid the geopolitical tensions and month-end dollar demand from importers may also weigh on the rupee," said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan.

"However, a positive tone in the domestic markets and any intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from India's Q2 FY25 GDP data. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 84.35 to 84.70," Choudhary added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.15% at 105.88.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.30% to $73.06 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 759.05 points or 0.96% to 79,802.79 points, while Nifty was up 216.95 points or 0.91% to 24,131.10 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded Rs 11,756.25 crore in the capital markets on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.