Rupee Rises 2 Paise to Close at 83.95 vs US Dollar

Mumbai, Aug 9 (PTI) The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled for the day higher by 2 paise at 83.95 (provisional) against US dollar on Friday, supported by gains in the domestic markets.

Forex traders said the rupee edged up slightly on gains in the domestic markets. However, a surge in crude oil prices capped sharp gains for the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.95 and touched an intraday low of 83.96 and a high of 83.88 against the dollar during the session.

It finally settled at 83.95 (provisional) against the American currency, higher by 2 paise from its previous close.

The local unit had slumped 37 paise to settle at an all-time low of 84.09 against the US dollar on Monday.

On Thursday, the rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled for the day lower by 2 paise at 83.97 against US dollar.

Forex traders said post the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy announcement, markets now wait for the US CPI data, India CPI, WPI and IIP data, and India's trade data, all scheduled to be released next week.

The Jackson Holes Symposium to be held after next week will also remain in focus, traders said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.05 per cent to 103.15, on better-than-expected weekly unemployment claims data.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.18 per cent higher at USD 79.30 per barrel in futures trade.

"We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on selling pressure from foreign investors and a positive US dollar. Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East may also pressurise the rupee," said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Choudhary further noted that positive global markets after easing worries over the yen carry-trade may support the rupee at lower levels. "USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.75 to Rs 84.20," he said.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 819.69 points, or 1.04 per cent, to close at 79,705.91 points, while the Nifty jumped 250.50 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 24,367.50 points.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,626.73 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank kept the benchmark repurchase or repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent.

Announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy review RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said Indian rupee remained largely range-bound so far this financial year.

Das further noted that the country's forex reserves touched a record high of USD 675 billion as on August 2.