Rupee falls 9 paise to 83.27 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated 9 paise to 83.27 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a negative trend in domestic equities and elevated crude oil prices. Forex traders said the local unit faced some resistance due to subdued sentiment in the domestic equity market and strengthening of the American currency in the overseas market.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.22 and lost further ground to trade at 83.27 against the greenback, registering a loss of 9 paise from its previous closing level.

On Tuesday, the rupee pared initial gains to settle 5 paise lower at 83.18 against the US dollar.

"The Indian rupee was sold off on Tuesday as oil and probably the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bought dollars (about USD 1 billion) to keep rupee appreciation in control before the month-end and the Lok Sabha election results," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

The USD/INR pair is likely to trade with a narrow range of 83.15/25 during the day, Bhansali added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 104.72, higher by 0.11 per cent.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.21 per cent to USD 84.40 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 227.75 points, or 0.30 per cent lower at 74,942.70 points. The broader NSE Nifty fell 74.30 points or 0.32 per cent to 22,813.85 points in initial trade.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday, as they purchased shares worth Rs 65.57 crore, according to exchange data.