Rupee ends 13 paise down against US dollar at 80.99

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee on Friday ended 13 paise down against the US dollar, at 80.99, after hitting record lows during the morning trade.

At close, the rupee ended at 80.99 as against 80.86 on the previous trading session.

"Indian rupee marked the biggest weekly decline after April 2021 amid a stronger dollar index and risk-off moods. There seems to be no turning back for the dollar as it made a fresh two-decade high and, in turn, pushed the rupee to a record low level," Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities said.

In the morning trade, the rupee hit 81-mark against the US dollar for the first time, because of uncertainty created after the uptick in dollar index, increase in policy rate by the US Fed and Bank of England, and escalation in geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Moreover, the negative trends in the domestic equities also weighed on sentiments.

The Bank of England hiked its base rate by 50 basis points to 2.25 per cent.

The FX space globally has been adversely impacted by the strengthening of the US dollar, elevated commodity prices and geopolitical uncertainties, and spiralling into slower growth-higher inflation trends.

While the EM currencies have been severely affected amid the fading risk appetite, the DM space has also remained significantly under pressure. The energy crisis in Europe, delayed rate hikes, widening the interest rate differentials and the persistence of elevated inflation have weighed on the FX space across the board.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.87 per cent to 112.075.

The Brent crude oil prices were trading at $87.74 per barrel.

Meanwhile, Indian equities market crashed sharply on Friday with the Sensex falling more than 1,000 points due to global cues, dealers said.

At close, Sensex ended 1,020.80 points, or 1.73 per cent, down at 58,058.92, and Nifty closed 302.45 points, or 1.72 per cent, at 17,327.35. As many as 2,497 shares declined, 983 shares advanced, and 107 remained unchanged.

"Spot USDINR is having resistance at 81.40 and support at 80.55," Parmar added.