Mumbai: The rupee saw a marginal 2 paise drop to end at 74.20 against the US dollar on Friday as month-end demand for the American currency from oil companies brought the domestic unit under pressure.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 74.15 per dollar as against its previous close of 74.18. It hovered in the range of 74.14 to 74.25 during the day before ending at 74.20.
On a weekly basis, the rupee has depreciated by 34 paise against the dollar.
“The Indian rupee depreciated for the fourth straight week against the US dollar on increased dollar demand from oil companies amid a persistent rise in crude oil prices,” said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.
Meanwhile, in the overseas markets, the dollar remained flat this Friday afternoon trade in Asia as traders are now watching out for the US core PCE data for more insights on the Fed’s monetary policy outlook, he said.
Regional currencies were mostly weaker this week and weighed on domestic unit this week, Iyer noted.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.08 per cent to 91.74.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 226.04 points or 0.43 per cent higher at 52,925.04, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 72.55 points or 0.46 per cent to 15,863.00.
—PTI

Press Trust of India