Rupee drops 9 paise to hit new low of 79.90 against US dollar

The rupee declined by 9 paise to settle at a new record low of 79.90 against the US currency on Thursday due to a firm US dollar in overseas markets and capital outflows.

A decline in crude oil prices in the international markets, however, restricted the rupee losses, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened strong at 79.72 and witnessed an intra-day high of 79.71 and a low of 79.92 against the US dollar in the day trade.

The local unit finally settled at 79.90 a dollar, down 9 paise over its previous close.

The rupee pared its early gains as the US dollar continued to gain against a basket of leading global currencies in early European trade. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.37 per cent up at 108.36.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, dropped 2.20 per cent to USD 97.38 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 98 points or 0.18 per cent lower at 53,416.15, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 28.00 points or 0.18 per cent to 15,938.65.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,839.52 crore, as per exchange data.