Rupee falls 9 paise to close at 82.18 against US dollar

MUMBAI: Falling for the second straight session, the rupee depreciated by 9 paise to settle at 82.18 against the US dollar on Friday, as a strong greenback overseas weighed on investor sentiments.

However, a positive trend in domestic equities and unabated foreign fund inflows cushioned the downslide, traders said.

Investors were cautious ahead of inflation data due to be released later in the day, they added.

According to the official data released after market hours, retail inflation declined to an 18-month low of 4.7 per cent in April mainly due to falling prices of vegetables, oils and fats.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened weak at 82.11 against the US currency and closed at 82.18, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.

During the session, the rupee touched its intra-day high of 82.09 and a low of 82.23 against the dollar.

On Thursday, the rupee closed at 82.09 against the US currency.

''The US debt crisis has added pressure on economies and may have contributed to the rupee's weakness,'' Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback''s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.03 per cent to 101.90.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 0.07 per cent to USD 74.93 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained 123.38 points or 0.20 per cent to end at 62,027.90, and the broader NSE Nifty closed 17.80 points or 0.10 per cent higher at 18,314.80.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Friday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,014.06 crore, according to exchange data.