Rupee down 22 paise, crosses 76-mark to the dollar amid Ukraine crisis

The rupee slumped 22 paise to close at 76.16 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday as investors assessed the global economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict amid rising crude oil prices.

Persistent foreign fund outflows and a weak trend in domestic equities too weighed on the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened weak at 76.06 against the American dollar and fell further during the session as investors moved away from riskier assets. The domestic unit oscillated between a high of 75.99 and a low of 76.22 during the session.

The rupee finally settled at 76.16 against the dollar, down 22 paise from the previous close.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against the basket of six currencies, fell 0.27 per cent to 98.05.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.80 per cent to USD 111.34 per barrel.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis has remained the most crucial issue for investors this week as they look to assess its global economic impact. Russia is one of the key oil producers, and prices have been rising as global supplies remain threatened by the conflict.

International crude oil prices shot above USD 120 a barrel for the first time in nine years on Thursday before retreating a little to USD 111 on Friday.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 768.87 points or 1.40 per cent lower at 54,333.81, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 252.70 points or 1.53 per cent to 16,245.35.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 6,644.65 crore, according to stock exchange data.