Rupee settles 14 paise lower at 73.66 against US dollar

The rupee depreciated 14 paise and settled at 73.66 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday tracking muted domestic equities. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened on a weak note at 73.70, and finally closed at 73.66 against the American currency, registering a fall of 14 paise over its last close.

During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 73.64 and a low of 73.78 against the greenback. On Wednesday, the rupee had strengthened by 12 paise to 73.52 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.06 per cent to 93.15.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 251.35 points lower at 39,051.50 and the broader NSE Nifty fell 74.20 points to 11,530.35.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 264.66 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.33 per cent to USD 42.08 per barrel.