Rupee falls 18 paise to close at 87.25 against USD

The rupee pared initial gains and settled for the day lower by 18 paise at 87.25 (provisional) against US dollar on Thursday, on a strong American currency and a recovery in crude oil prices.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened on a positive note at 87.04, then touched an early high of 86.93 and an intraday low of 87.27 against the US dollar. The domestic unit settled for the day at 87.25 (provisional), registering a decline of 18 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee settled on a higher note at 87.07 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.02 per cent to 98.23.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.90 per cent higher at USD 67.44 per barrel in futures trade, as investors remained focused on the Ukraine peace push and sanctions on Russia remaining in place for now.
Traders are focussed on whether US Fed Chief Jerome Powell will push back against market expectations for a rate cut on the September 16-17 meeting when he speaks at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday.
On the domestic equity market front, stock markets advanced for the sixth consecutive day with Sensex settling for the day with gains of 142.87 points at 82,000.71, while Nifty was up by 33.20 points at 25,083.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,100.09 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.