Rupee Closes 2 Paise Lower vs US Dollar - PTI

Mumbai, Nov 23 (PTI) The rupee slipped by 2 paise to settle at 83.34 against the US dollar on Thursday due to FII outflows and weak local equities.

Oil prices sliding more than 1 per cent and the US currency trading lower against its major global rivals restricted the rupee's fall, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened higher at 83.30 against the US dollar. It later moved in a tight range of 83.29 to 83.36 in the day trade.

The rupee finally closed lower by 2 paise at 83.34. The unit had closed at 83.32 on Wednesday.

"The rupee continued its range-bound trading, a minor weakness after opening rally to 83.36 basing within the range of 83.30-83.36. The hawkish tone in the November minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) somewhat stabilised the dollar index around 103.50.

"However, the data on inflation, which has been decreasing, suggests that there may not be further rate hikes. The rupee's range-bound movement persists due to the volatility in the dollar index, crude oil, and FII numbers, keeping it within the range of 83.10-83.40," Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, said.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.31 per cent down at 103.60.

The greenback had strengthened on Wednesday after the Fed meeting minutes suggested a hawkish tone of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.45 per cent to USD 80.77 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex slipped by 5.43 points or 0.01 per cent to close at 66,017.81 points. The Nifty50 declined 9.85 points or 0.05 per cent to settle at 19,802.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) emerged as net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday as they bought shares worth Rs 255.53 crore, according to exchange data.