Mumbai, May 15 (PTI) The rupee fell by 13 paise to close at 82.31 against the US currency on Monday, weighed down by a stronger dollar in the overseas market and the waning risk appetite of investors.

Gains in domestic stocks and foreign fund inflows restricted the fall in the rupee, analysts said.

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At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.22 against the dollar and moved in a range of 82.18 to 82.37 against the greenback during the day. The local unit finally settled at 82.31, down 13 paise from its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee settled at 82.18 against the dollar.

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The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, traded in positive during the Asian trading hours but later slipped from a five-week high. The US dollar index was down 0.15 per cent to 102.53.

US Dollar gained on safe-haven demand amid worries over the US debt ceiling crisis.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.24 per cent to USD 74.35 per barrel.

"The Indian rupee started the week on a sour note following strength in the US dollar after Friday's economic data," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, India's WPI contracted for the first time in almost three years and CPI eased to the slowest pace since October 2021.

According to official data, India's WPI inflation has been on a declining trend for the last 11 months and came in at (-) 0.92 per cent in April. Retail inflation came in at an 18-month low of 4.70 per cent.

"All eyes will be on US President Joe Biden's meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders on Tuesday. In the near-term, spot USDINR has resistance at 82.50 and support at 82. The bias is favourable for dollar bulls," Parmar added.

The Indian rupee depreciated on a strong Dollar. However, FII inflows and weak crude oil prices cushioned the downside, Anuj Choudhary - Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas said.

Macroeconomic data from India was mixed. India's consumer inflation declined to an 18-month low at 4.7 per cent in April 2023, as compared to 5.66 per cent in March 2023. However, India's industrial production increased by 1.1 per cent in March 2023, at a slower pace as compared to 5.6 per cent in February 2023.

India's WPI declined to (-) 0.92 per cent in April as compared to 1.34 per cent in the previous month.

"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on risk-off sentiments on the back of the debt ceiling crisis and a strong Dollar. However, weak crude oil prices and foreign inflows may support Rupee at lower levels," Choudhary added.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 317.81 points or 0.51 per cent higher at 62,345.71. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 84.05 points or 0.46 per cent to 18,398.85. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Monday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,685.29 crore, according to exchange data.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)