INR Extends Decline Despite Rebound In Local Equities, Dollar Weakness

Published on Dec 21, 2023 16:47

The Indian rupee fell by 9 paise to settle at 83.27 against the US dollar even as local equities recovered some lost ground on Thursday after falling sharply the previous day. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 358.79 points, or 0.51 percent, to 70,865.10 after having tumbled 1.30 percent the previous day. The broader NSE Nifty index closed 104.90 points, or half a percent, higher at 21,255.05 after settling 1.4 percent lower in the previous session. Withdrawal of foreign funds amid concerns over global trade disruption through the Red Sea route dented investor sentiment but weakness in dollar limited losses in the domestic unit. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.19 and traded between the peak of 83.18 and the lowest level of 83.28 against the dollar during intra-day deals. Meanwhile, the foreign exchange reserves stood at US$ 606.9 billion on December 8, 2023 covering 10.4 months of imports projected for 2023-24 and 96 per cent of total external debt outstanding at end-June 2023, the central bank said in its December Bulletin. India�s foreign exchange reserves were the fourth highest among major foreign exchange reserves holding countries, having increased by US$ 28.4 billion during 2023-24 so far.