MUMBAI: The rupee declined for the fourth straight day to end 19 paise lower at 74.74 (provisional) against the US currency on Friday as a firm dollar NSE 1.35 % and expectations of further spike in crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened on a negative note at 74.71 per dollar against its previous close of 74.55. It hovered in the range of 74.65 to 74.87 per dollar during the day before ending at 74.74.
The domestic currency has lost 55 paise in the four trading sessions to Friday.
"Rupee witnessed a weak trend as OPEC+ delayed production info, which indicates at no increase in production which can make crude expensive going ahead. The range for rupee can be 74.60 - 75.10 in coming sessions ahead," said Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at LKP Securities.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.05 per cent to 92.63.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 166.07 points or 0.32 per cent higher at 52,484.67, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 42.20 points or 0.27 per cent to close at 15,722.20.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.14 per cent to USD 75.73 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,245.29 crore, as per exchange data.
Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com