Rupee falls 14 paise in early trade

The Indian currency opened at 79.55 against the greenback, then fell further to 79.66.

The rupee depreciated by 14 paise to 79.66 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, September 1, 2022, tracking the strength of the American currency overseas.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 79.55 against the greenback, then fell further to 79.66, registering a decline of 14 paise over its last close.

In the last session on Tuesday, August 30, 2021, (markets closed on Wednesday due to Ganesh Chaturthi) the Indian currency finished at a nearly two-week high of 79.52.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.28 per cent to 109.

The rupee opened weaker against the dollar as prospects of further aggressive policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) weighed on Asian currencies and equities, said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

"Oil prices remained subdued this Thursday and could cap losses, but weak Asian and emerging market peers will cap gains," Mr. Iyer said, adding the range for the rupee in this session is 79.30 to 79.75.

The global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 2.84 per cent to USD 96.49 per barrel.