The rupee on Friday weakened by 17 paise to close at 71.25 against the dollar as concerns related to fiscal slippage weighed on the sentiment after the interim budget unveiled some big measures ahead of the general elections, reported news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) report. Rising crude prices weighed on the local unit, while, heavy buying in domestic equities restricted the slide in the local unit to some extent, traders were quoted as saying in the PTI report. On Thursday,the rupee had settled 4 paise higher at 71.08 against the dollar.
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At the forex market, the rupee opened at 71.08, but during the day it came under selling pressure. The local unit moved in a range of 70.94 to 71.39 and finally ended at 71.25 against dollar.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.06 per cent to 95.52, ahead of US labour market report.
According to V K Sharma, Head PCG and Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities, rupee and bonds fell on the budget announcement of the higher borrowings,"
The government has pegged the fiscal deficit target at 3.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for financial year 2019-20, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.
"Announcements towards farms, farmers and middle income category are expected to create huge pressure on the fiscal deficit during FY20," Arun Singh, Lead Economist, Dun & Bradstreet's said.
The government made a big push in his final budget before the Lok Sabha elections, cutting taxes for middle-class voters and giving cash handouts to farmers. This, however, will widen its fiscal deficit targets for the current and next financial year, analysts said.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, meanwhile, was trading higher at $60.97 per barrel, higher by 0.21 per cent.
Equity benchmark Sensex ended 212.74 points, or 0.59 per cent, higher at 36,469.43, despite the government presenting a populist budget carrying fiscal fragilities. Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty jumped 62.70 points, or 0.58 per cent, to close at 10,893.65.
Foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 1,315.89 crore from the capital markets on a net basis on Friday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 5.07 crore, provisional data showed.
On a weekly-basis, the domestic currency registered a loss of 8 paise. The rupee had registered a marginal gain of 2 paise in the previous week.
(With inputs from agencies)
