Rupee slips by six paise to 75.02 against US dollar in opening trade

Mumbai: The Indian rupee depreciated by six paise to 75.02 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday, weighed down by firm crude oil prices and a strong American currency in the overseas market. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a weak note at 75.02, registering a decline of six paise from the last close. On Tuesday, the rupee had closed at 74.96 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell marginally by 0.06 percent to 93.88. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.49 percent to USD 85.98 per barrel. Stronger US dollar and its demand from importers could cap the appreciation bias in the local unit, said Sriram Iyer, Senior research analyst at Reliance Securities. However, fund inflows into the equity markets will lend support, he noted. Most emerging market and Asian currencies have started mixed amid lack of direction. “Technically, the USD-INR spot is trading near the 21-daily moving average at 74.84 levels and could bounce back from the level and continue its bullish momentum up to 75.08-75.25 levels. 74.80-74.65 will hold as support levels,” Iyer noted. Moreover, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,368.66 crore, as per exchange data. On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 43.53 points or 0.07 per cent higher at 61,393.79, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 22.70 points or 0.12 per cent to 18,291.10.