MUMBAI, May 9 : The rupee recovered 4 paise to settle at 83.48 against the US dollar on Thursday on the back of a weak American currency against major rivals overseas.
Forex traders said massive foreign fund outflow and negative domestic equity markets kept the Indian currency under pressure.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit witnessed a range-bound trade. It opened at 83.49, and touched an intraday high of 83.44 against the greenback. The local unit finally settled for the day at 83.48, up 4 paise from its previous closing level.
On Wednesday, the rupee stayed range-bound and settled 1 paisa lower at 83.52 against the US dollar.
Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said that the overnight jump in crude oil prices put pressure on the rupee.
“Any intervention by RBI or bond related foreign inflows may support rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from weekly unemployment claims data from US and speeches from Fed officials. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.30 to Rs 83.75,” Choudhary said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was at 105.29, lower by 0.25 per cent.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.57 per cent to USD 84.06 per barrel.
Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said: “The session was characterized by sideways trading and lack of significant data on the dollar index. The rupee’s range is expected to remain between 83.25 and 83.70 in the near term.”
On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 1,062.22 points, or 1.45 per cent to close at 72,404.17 points. The broader NSE Nifty settled 345.00 points or 1.55 per cent lower at 21,957.50 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 6,994.86 crore, according to exchange data. (PTI)
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