Rupee Ends Flat at 83.18 vs US Dollar | Crude Oil Price Spike

Mumbai, Dec 20 (PTI) The rupee ended flat at 83.18 against the US dollar on Wednesday amid massive selling in equity markets as concerns over oil supplies through the Red Sea route dented investor sentiment.

Forex traders said though the US dollar index below 102 level provided support, the Indian currency was weighed down by foreign fund outflows amid volatile crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.17 and traded between a high of 83.13 and a low of 83.18 against the dollar in the day. It finally settled at its previous closing level of 83.18 against the greenback.

Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, said: "The overall trend appears to be volatile, spanning between 83.10 and 83.35. The movement is influenced by the dollar index, which saw minor gains around 102.30. Additionally, the positive trading in crude prices suggests potential weakness in the rupee against the dollar."

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08 per cent higher at 101.87 on Wednesday.

Global oil price benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.39 per cent to USD 80.33 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 930.88 points or 1.30 per cent to settle at 70,506.31. The broader NSE Nifty declined 302.95 points or 1.41 per cent to 21,150.15.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the equity market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,322.08 crore, according to exchange data.