Rupee starts 2022 on muted note, falls 14 paise to 74.43 against USD

The rupee started the year 2022 on a muted note as it slipped 14 paise to 74.43 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday, tracking weak macroeconomic data.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 74.35, then fell further to 74.43 against the greenback, registering a decline of 14 paise from the last close. 

The local unit also touched an early high of 74.31 against the greenback in initial deals.

The local unit on the last trading day of 2021 had settled at 74.29.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, increased by 0.19 per cent to 96.85.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, India's current account slipped into a deficit of USD 9.6 billion or 1.3 per cent of GDP in the September quarter, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

The current account, which records the value of exports and imports of both goods and services along with international transfers of capital, was in a surplus mode both in the quarter-ago and year-ago periods.

Forex traders said growing concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus and its impact on economic recovery as well as firm crude oil prices weighed on the local unit.

The local unit was trading in a narrow range, as positive domestic equities supported the rupee and limited the depreciating bias, they said.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 490.38 points or 0.84 per cent higher at 58,744.20, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 136.35 points or 0.79 per cent to 17,490.40.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced by 0.72 per cent to USD 78.34 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market on Friday, as they purchased shares worth Rs 575.39 crore, as per stock exchange data.