The Indian rupee on Wednesday declined 3 paise to 76.18 against the US dollar, mirroring the greenback's strength in the international market and bad domestic macroeconomic indicators.
The rupee opened lower against the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market, at 76.15, before falling to 76.26. It ended up at 76.18, down 3 paise from the previous close. The rupee dropped 24 paise to 76.15 on Tuesday.
In the meantime, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.13 percent at 100.42.
Inflation in the United States reached a four-decade high of 8.50 percent in March, according to the latest CPI report released on Tuesday. Brent crude prices rose 0.46 percent to USD105.12 a barrel, the global benchmark.
Retail inflation jumped to a 17-month high of 6.95 percent in March, remaining beyond the Reserve Bank's maximum tolerance limit, while industry output grew barely 1.7 percent in February, according to official data.
In the Indian stock market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex sank 237.44 points, or 0.41 percent, to 58,338.93, while the NSE Nifty dropped 54.65 points, or 0.31 percent, to 17,475.65. According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, offloading shares worth Rs.3,128.39 crore.
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