Rupee slips 15 paise to 75.99 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, April 7 (PTI): The rupee declined 15 paise to 75.99 against the US dollar in the opening trade on Thursday as hawkish stance of the US Federal Reserve affected investor sentiments in emerging markets and bolstered the American currency.

Forex traders said most Asian and emerging market peers were trading weaker against the US dollar on Thursday morning while a rebound in the crude oil prices will weigh on sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened lower at 75.88 against the US dollar, then slipped to 75.99, registering a decline of 15 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee tanked 55 paise, its steepest single-day fall in a month, to close at a one-week low of 75.84 against the US dollar.

The Indian rupee weakened against the US currency as hawkish US Federal Reserve stance lifted the dollar and the US benchmark bond yields, Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 1.51 per cent to USD 102.60 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.05 per cent to 99.54.

“The US dollar has started marginally weaker this early Thursday morning in Asian trade but downside could remain capped after meeting minutes showed the Federal Reserve preparing to move aggressively to head off inflation,” Iyer said.

Investors will await cues from the RBI monetary policy meeting outcome which will be announced on April 8.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 369.19 points or 0.62 per cent lower at 59,241.22, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 99.80 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 17,707.85.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth INR 2,279.97 crore, according to stock exchange data.