Rupee slips 12 paise to 77.66 against greenback

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 12 paise to close at 77.66 against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking a negative trend in domestic equities and surging crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 77.65 against the greenback and finally settled at 77.66, down 12 paise over its previous close. During the session, the rupee touched an intra-day low of 77.70 and a high of 77.62. On Monday, the rupee settled at 77.54 against the US dollar.

This is also the fifth straight monthly decline for the rupee amid weak risk sentiments, foreign fund outflows and concerns over high inflation. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 101.70. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 1.77 per cent to $123.82 per barrel.

According to Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, the rupee has become the worst-performing currency among Asian currencies and clocked the fifth monthly decline in a row in May on the back of foreign fund outflows and slower economic growth. "Risk sentiments remained weak on worries over hawkish central banks following higher inflation and slower growth prospectus," Parmar said.