Mumbai: The rupee depreciated by 10 paise to close at 77.60 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, even as oil prices eased and domestic equities settled on a positive note.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee consolidated in a narrow range. It opened lower at 77.61 against the greenback and finally settled at 77.60, down 10 paise over its previous close. During the session, the rupee touched an intra-day low of 77.63 and a high of 77.54. On Wednesday, the rupee had recovered from its record low to close 21 paise higher at 77.50.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.25 per cent lower at 102.24.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 2.27 per cent to USD 113.65 per barrel. "Rupee continued to trade in a narrow range and volatility remained low despite marginal gains in domestic equities. Dollar rose against its major crosses after manufacturing PMI came in better-than-estimate," said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Somaiya further said "we expect the USD-INR to trade sideways and quote in the range of 77.20 and 77.80." On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 436.94 points or 0.79 per cent higher at 55,818.11, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 105.25 points or 0.64 per cent to 16,628.00. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,930.16 crore, as per stock exchange data.—PTI