Rupee slips 3 paise to 88.66 amid strong dollar, foreign fund outflows
Mumbai: The rupee weakened by 3 paise to 88.66 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, weighed down by a stronger greenback and persistent foreign fund withdrawals from Indian markets.
Forex traders said heavy selling in domestic equities and a rise in global crude oil prices further pressured the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 88.61 and fell to 88.66 against the dollar, down 3 paise from its previous close. On Thursday, it had appreciated by 7 paise to end at 88.63.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance against six major currencies, rose 0.08 per cent to 99.66. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, gained 0.39 per cent to trade at USD 63.62 per barrel in futures.
“Crude prices eased on Thursday amid worries of oversupply and weakening demand in the US, the world’s largest oil consumer,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
In domestic equities, the Sensex plunged 610.92 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 82,700.09 in early trade, while the Nifty dropped 169.50 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 25,340.20.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth ₹3,263.21 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India’s services sector expanded at its slowest pace in five months in October, as competitive pressures and heavy rains curbed business activity. The HSBC India Services PMI fell to 58.9 from 60.9 in September, marking the weakest growth since May.
