Rupee falls 12 paise to 82.90 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 12 paise to 82.90 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, weighed down by a strong American currency after the US inflation data for January stoked worries that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer.

A muted trend in domestic equities and firm crude oil prices further dented investor sentiments, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 82.90 against the dollar, registering a decline of 12 paise over its last close.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the rupee settled at 82.78 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.14 per cent to 103.38.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.70 per cent to USD 84.98 per barrel.

"In the overseas markets, the dollar index rebounded from lows of the session as data for January showed the smallest annual increase in US consumer prices since October 2021, which did not alter market expectations that interest rates will remain elevated for some time," said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

Data showed US CPI rose 6.4 per cent in the 12 months through January, the smallest gain since October 2021.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 265.2 points or 0.43 per cent lower at 60,767.06. The broader NSE Nifty declined 69.85 points or 0.39 per cent to 17,860.00.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,305.30 crore, according to exchange data.