Mumbai: The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled higher by 1 paisa at 83.51 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid softening crude oil prices in the international market.
Forex traders said a negative trend in domestic equities and significant foreign fund outflows kept the Indian currency under pressure.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.48 against the greenback and hit an intra-day high of 83.47 and a low of 83.52 against the dollar.
The domestic unit finally settled at 83.51 against the dollar, 1 paisa higher than its previous closing level.
On Monday, the rupee settled 7 paise lower at 83.52 against the US dollar.
The Indian rupee traded almost flat on weak domestic markets and positive US dollar. FII outflows also weighed on the rupee, said Anuj Choudhary Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
However, a soft tone in crude oil prices cushioned the downside. The US dollar gained on weak Asian currencies after the Australian dollar fell amid a less-hawkish-than-expected tone of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on weak domestic markets and positive dollar amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
“However, softness in crude oil prices and positive European and Asian markets may support the rupee at lower levels. Any intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may also support the domestic currency. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.30 to Rs 83.75,” Choudhary added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was at 105.02, higher by 0.09 per cent.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.94 per cent to USD 82.55 per barrel.
Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst, Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said: “Although crude prices have been lower recently, capital market sell-offs have exerted some pressure on the rupee, causing it to weaken from 83.30 to 83.50. With no major data releases scheduled for this week, the rupee is expected to continue trading sideways within the range of 83.20-83.65.”
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 383.69 points, or 0.52 per cent, to settle at 73,511.85 points. The Nifty fell 140.20 points, or 0.62 per cent, to close at 22,302.50 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,668.84 crore, according to exchange data.
