Rupee falls 2 paise to close at 81.90 against US dollar as FM Nirmala Sitharaman presents Budget 2023
In her Budget speech, the Union finance minister retained the country's fiscal deficit target of 6.4 percent in the Revised Estimate for FY23 and cut it to 5.9 percent for FY24. She said that the fiscal deficit is to be brought down to below 4.5 percent by 2025-26.
FollowThe Indian rupee on Wednesday (February 1) pared initial gains and settled 2 paise lower at 81.90 (provisional) against the US dollar after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2023-24 in the Parliament.
Forex traders said investors stayed on the sidelines, as they are waiting for the outcome of the US Federal Reserve meeting later in the evening. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 81.76 against the greenback and finally settled at 81.90, down 2 paise over its previous close.
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On Tuesday, the rupee depreciated by 36 paise to close at a three-week low of 81.88 against the US dollar after the Economic Survey 2022-23 said the domestic unit may remain under pressure on account of plateauing of exports and subsequent widening of the current account deficit.
In her Budget speech, the Union finance minister retained the country's fiscal deficit target of 6.4 percent in the Revised Estimate for FY23 and cut it to 5.9 percent for FY24. She said that the fiscal deficit is to be brought down to below 4.5 percent by 2025-26.
As of December-end, the government's fiscal deficit touched 59.8 percent of the full-year Budget Estimate on subdued growth in revenue collections, according to finance ministry data released on Tuesday.
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India's manufacturing sector activity moderated in January amid a slower increase in total sales, and headcounts were broadly unchanged amid sufficient staff numbers to cope with current requirements, according to a monthly survey.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell from December's recent high of 57.8 to 55.4 in January, as factory orders and production rose at a slower pace.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.14 per cent lower at 101.95. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.26 per cent to USD 85.24 per barrel.
The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 187.31 points or 0.31 per cent higher at 59,708.08, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 45.85 points or 0.26 percent to 17,616.30. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 5,439.64 crore, according to exchange data.
(With inputs from PTI)
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