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The rupee declined 20 paise to 83.33 against the U.S. dollar on March 22 due to a stronger greenback in the global markets and dollar buying by importers.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened lower at 83.28 against the previous close of 83.13 to a dollar. The unit moved in a range of 83.23 to 83.33 in morning deals.

The local unit was trading at 83.33 against the dollar at 9.30 a.m., down by 20 paise from its previous close of 83.13.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.72% to 104.17 as concerns over the slowing global economy boosted demand for the greenback.

The U.S. dollar index had retreated from 104 levels on Thursday after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept interest rates unchanged in the range of 5.25-5.5% range.

Fed Chair, Jerome Powell stuck to his previous forecast of three rate cuts in 2024.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.70% to $85.18 per barrel.

Analysts said dollar demand from importers, mainly oil companies, and debt repayment outflows weighed on the rupee.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined by 372.64 points to 72,268.55 while broader Nifty dropped 94.45 points to 21,917.50 in the morning session.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,826.97 crore, according to exchange data.