The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled lower by 3 paise at 83.31 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a strong American currency overseas.
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Forex traders said a muted trend in domestic equities also weighed on the local unit while a correction in oil prices provided support to the currency.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.31 and touched a low of 83.34 against the greenback.
It finally settled at 83.31 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a fall of 3 paise from its previous close.
On Tuesday, the rupee recovered from its all-time low to settle 10 paise higher at 83.28 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.18 per cent higher at 103.75.
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Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.79 per cent to USD 81.80 per barrel.
The US dollar recovered after the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) released on Tuesday showed that the monetary policy stance was slightly hawkish.
“We expect rupee to trade with a slight positive bias towards dollar inflows due to IPOs in the domestic markets. However, a positive tone in the US dollar and expectations that crude oil prices may also surge may cap sharp upside,” Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said.
USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 83 to 83.60, Choudhary said.
Domestic Indices
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex rose 92.47 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 66,023.24 points. The Nifty advanced 28.45 points or 0.14 per cent to 19,811.85 points.
FII
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they sold shares worth Rs 455.59 crore, according to exchange data.
