The Indian rupee dropped by 16 paise to 86.88 against the US dollar in early trading on Tuesday, driven by a stronger greenback, continued FII outflows, and an increase in Brent crude prices. Despite these factors, the rupee’s decline was limited by a recovery in domestic equities.
Opening at 86.83 at the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee slipped to 86.88, down 16 paise from the previous day’s closing of 86.72. Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, noted that the rupee was under pressure due to month-end dollar demand, leading to a further weakening against the US dollar.
Although the domestic equity markets rebounded, with the BSE Sensex rising by 117.57 points to 74,571.98 and Nifty up by 31.3 points to 22,584.65, the dollar index also increased by 0.03% to 106.62. Additionally, Brent crude prices rose by 0.51% to $75.16 per barrel in futures trade.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to offload equities worth ₹6,286.70 crore on a net basis on Monday. Overall, the market sentiment remained cautious, with a preference for buying dollars to strengthen against the rupee.
This article was published on February 25, 2025.
