Rupee Ends Flat Against US Dollar: Inflation, Fed Meeting in Focus

Mumbai, Dec 12 (PTI) The rupee settled flat at 83.37 against the US dollar on Tuesday, as investors preferred to remain cautious ahead of the domestic inflation data release and US Fed meeting.

Besides, selling pressure in the domestic equity markets dented market sentiments, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.36 and finally settled flat at 83.37 against the greenback.

During intra-day, the rupee touched a high of 83.35 and a low of 83.39.

On Monday, the domestic currency settled at 83.37 against the US dollar.

Currency traders were also awaiting the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision likely to be announced later this week.

"The upcoming focus is on the US CPI data in the evening, with expectations of 0.3 per cent on a month-on-month basis and a lower year-on-year figure at 3.1 per cent. Anticipating mixed reactions, the rupee seems unaffected, persisting within the broad range of 83.30-83.45," Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, said.

Investors largely remained concerned over the domestic inflation data and industrial production numbers, which were announced after market hours.

India's industrial production growth accelerated to 16-month high of 11.7 per cent in October, mainly due to double-digit growth in manufacturing, power and mining sectors' output, according to the official data released on Tuesday.

Retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 5.55 per cent in November on firming food prices, including vegetables and cereals, though it remains within the RBI's comfort zone of less than 6 per cent.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.28 per cent lower at 103.41 on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.34 per cent to USD 76.29 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark BSE Sensex plunged 377.50 points, or 0.54 per cent, to settle at 69,551.03 points. The Nifty also fell 90.70 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 20,906.40 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Tuesday as they bought shares worth Rs 76.86 crore, according to exchange data.