Rupee firms up 16 paise to 75.90 against USD on easing crude prices

The rupee notched up gains for a third straight session on Monday, rising further by 16 paise to settle at 75.90 (provisional) against the US dollar as easing crude oil prices revived an otherwise lacklustre sentiment.

Massive sell-offs in domestic equities, sustained foreign fund outflows and concerns around Omicron variant of coronavirus were a host of factors restricting rupee gains, forex traders said.

Starting off on a tepid note, the rupee weakened to a low of 76.16 before staging a recovery. It hit the day's high at 75.83 against the dollar, before closing at 75.90, clocking a gain of 16 paise.

Last week, the local unit recorded its fourth weekly decline amid growing concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Experts, however, are of the view that as major events of the year are almost done, forex markets may stay calm in the coming week.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against the basket of six currencies, rose 0.05 per cent to 96.61.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 2.23 per cent to USD 71.44 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front on Monday, the BSE Sensex crashed 1,189.73 points or 2.09 per cent at 55,822.01, while the broader NSE Nifty plunged 371 points or 2.18 per cent to 16,614.20.

Foreign institutional investors continued to offload shares in the capital market on Friday, as they sold equities worth Rs 2,069.90 crore, exchange data showed.