Rupee falls 13 paise to settle at 95.43 against US dollar

On Tuesday, the Indian rupee experienced a 13 paise decline, settling at 95.43 against the US dollar, according to provisional data. This downward movement was driven by a surge in global crude oil prices, which were propelled by geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran. Despite this, recent foreign capital inflows offered some support to the rupee, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.38 and fluctuated between 95.37 and 95.45 before finalizing at 95.43, marking a 13 paise drop from its previous close. On Monday, the rupee had also declined to 95.30 against the US dollar, influenced by the same factors. Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan, anticipates a slight negative bias for the rupee but believes that RBI intervention could provide support at lower levels.

Traders are expected to remain cautious in the lead-up to US inflation data release this week, with the USD-INR spot price projected to trade between Rs 95.15 and 95.80. Fitch Ratings affirmed India's sovereign credit rating at BBB- with a stable outlook, citing the domestic economy's strength despite headwinds from the energy crisis in the West Asia region.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against six major currencies, rose to 99.86, up 0.06 percent. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices surged by 2.45 percent to $89.87 per barrel. On the domestic front, the Sensex closed 388.19 points lower at 78,154.25, while the Nifty ended 112.10 points down at 24,471.70.

On a positive note, foreign institutional investors made a net purchase of equities worth ₹1,974.76 crore on Monday, as per exchange data.