Rupee falls 10 paise to 74.20 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, June 22 (PTI): The Indian rupee slumped 10 paise to 74.20 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday as rising crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened lower at 74.18 against the dollar, then fell further to 74.20, registering a fall of 10 paise over its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee had settled at 74.10 against the US dollar.

“Asian currencies have started weak against the greenback this Tuesday morning and surging crude oil prices could continue to keep appreciation bias limited,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.32 per cent to USD 75.14 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 0.03 up 91.93 per cent.

“The US dollar index was flat this morning in Asian trade ahead of the Fed Chairman Powell testimony tonight. Investors will wait and watch if he confirms the hawkish outlook or tries to row back market expectations of faster tightening,” the Reliance Securities’ note said.

On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 471.17 points or 0.90 per cent higher at 53,045.63, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 144 points or 0.91 per cent to 15,890.50.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,244.71 crore, as per exchange data.