Rupee slumps 25 paise to close at 74.15 against US dollar

Mumbai, The rupee on Friday slumped 25 paise to close at 74.15 (provisional) against the US dollar, as muted domestic equities and elevated crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments. Forex traders said the local unit fell following more hawkish comments by Federal Reserve officials.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency witnessed an intra-day high of 74.05 and a low of 74.21 against the US dollar.

The local unit finally settled at 74.15, down 25 paise over its previous close of 73.90.

US Fed policymakers signalled they will start to raise interest rates in March to combat inflation and this weighed on emerging market currencies.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01 per cent down at 94.78.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 1.01 per cent to USD 85.32 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 12.27 points or 0.02 per cent lower at 61,223.03, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 2.05 points or 0.01 per cent to 18,255.75.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,390.85 crore, as per exchange data.