Rupee edges lower to 82.01 against US dollar

The rupee fell 6 paise to 82.01 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, April 26, due to foreign investment outflows and a downward trend in local stocks. The local unit at the interbank foreign exchange opened weak against the dollar at 82.00, then dropped to 82.01, losing 6 paise from its previous close. On Tuesday, April 25, the rupee settled at 81.95 against the dollar.

The dollar index — which gauges the dollar against six currencies other than the rupee — was last seen trading 0.04 per cent lower at 101.82. The index compares the dollar to the yen, the pound, the Canadian dollar, the Swedish krona, the Swiss franc, and the euro.

"The undercurrents of the rising chaos on the global front amid geo-political concerns and a sudden change in the risk on and off mode are not healthy for the currency.

"However, in the near-term perspective, the pair has been squeezed between 81.80-82.20, and a push above 82.20 is required to take the pair towards 82.50-82.80 levels," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the benchmark for crude oil, increased by 0.53 per cent to $81.03 a barrel. 

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading  28.46 points or 0.05 per cent lower at 60,102.25 while the broader NSE Nifty was just 15 points or 0.073 per cent down at 17,755.85 at 10.18 AM IST on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 407.35 crore, according to exchange data.

With PTI inputs