New Delhi, July 22 (H.S.): The rupee closed down against the dollar today due to heavy selling by foreign institutional investors in the stock market, ending at 86.36 after starting the session at 86.25. Initially, the rupee strengthened to 86.22 with increased dollar inflows but weakened as foreign investors sold off, increasing dollar demand and driving the rupee down to 86.42. It later recovered slightly to close at 86.36. Rajiv Dutta, CEO of Capex Gold and Investments, attributed the rupee’s decline to foreign institutional investors withdrawing money from the Indian stock market and ongoing global market turmoil. He noted that although international crude oil prices saw a minor decline, there are expectations of an impending price increase reflected in the rising dollar price. The rupee also weakened against other major currencies, falling to 116.56 against the British pound (a decrease of 42 paise) and 101.10 against the euro (a decline of 61 paise).

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar