Rupee slips to 75.53 against dollar on Omicron concerns

The rupee on Thursday edged down by 3 paise to settle at 75.53 (provisional) against the US dollar, tracking a firm American currency amid concerns over the impact of the new COVID variant on the economy.

Besides, unabated foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiments, traders said.

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At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 75.45 against the greenback. The local unit soon pared its initial gains and touched a low of 75.58 against the US dollar.

The rupee finally settled at 75.53, down by 3 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the Indian rupee fell to a near two-month low of 75.50 against the US dollar, as RBI's bi-monthly monetary policy decision failed to enthuse forex market participants.

The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday kept borrowing costs at a record-low for the ninth consecutive time, as it decided to continue supporting economic growth amid uncertainty over the impact of the Omicron strain on the economy.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.20 per cent up at 96.08.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.46 per cent to USD 75.47 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 157.45 points or 0.27 per cent higher at 58,807.13, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 47.10 points or 0.27 per cent to 17,516.85.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 579.27 crore, as per exchange data.