Rupee slumps 31 paise to close at 76.15 against the US dollar

The rupee slumped 31 paise to close at 76.15 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on March 21 as rising crude oil prices and a lacklustre trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 76.08 against the American currency, then lost further ground to settle at 76.15, down 31 paise from the previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee spurted by 37 paise to close at 75.84 against the U.S. dollar.

The Forex market was closed on Friday on account of Holi.

“The dollar is in rally mode as markets expect an even more hawkish Federal Reserve moving forward. Weakness in domestic equities and higher crude oil prices also weighed on the local unit,” said Dilip Parmar, research analyst, HDFC Securities.

Mr. Parmar further said that there are a handful of economic events this week and the focus will remain Ukraine-Russia peace talks, which will drive risk sentiments and crude oil prices.

“Spot USD/INR is having strong support at 75.70 and resistance at 76.45,” Mr. Parmar noted.