Indian rupee falls 30 paise to close at 79.46 against US dollar

MUMBAI: The rupee has depreciated 30 paise against the US dollar on Thursday as sentiments of investors dampened due to weak macroeconomic data and tensions between US-China.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 79.21 and then fell to 79.46 against the US dollar. The rupee ended at 79.16 against the dollar on Wednesday.

Market participants said that most traders remained cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy due on Friday.

"Rupee dragged lower below 79.75 as volatility increased in the market on the back of geopolitical issues which may arise between US-China conflict over Taiwan. More of a panic sentiment rally was witnessed across currencies especially Chinese neighbouring countries due to geographical locations," said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities.

India's exports dipped marginally for the first time in June and the trade deficit has recorded tripled to $31 billion on 70 per cent rise in crude oil prices. By the end of Indian market hours, Brent crude oil prices were trading at $97.15 a barrel.