Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Sep 28: The rupee depreciated 20 paise to 95.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as the greenback strengthened further and foreign fund outflows continued amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.

Forex traders said elevated global crude oil prices also put pressure on the Indian currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.89 against the US dollar and weakened further to touch 95.95, registering a decline of 20 paise from its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had appreciated 24 paise to close at 95.75 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 101.11, up 0.15 per cent.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 2.31 per cent to $106.81 per barrel in futures trade.

“Despite the Brent oil for November series being higher due to US President Donald Trump rejecting the peace proposal from Iran, the rupee is set to open at around 95.80 and is expected to remain in the range of 95.50 to 96.00 with the RBI continuing to hold the 96.00 of the range,” said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

Bhansali said Brent crude remained firmly above the $100 mark, posing an underlying threat to India’s import bill and foreign exchange reserves.

On the domestic equity market, the Sensex plunged 730 points to 73,170.12 in early trade, while the Nifty declined 231.50 points to 22,908.95.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,693.93 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India’s forex reserves declined by $14.881 billion to $765.901 billion during the week ended September 18, according to Reserve Bank of India data released on Friday. The fall was attributed to a decline in foreign currency assets.