Rupee settles at 95.88 against US dollar
The rupee stayed on upward track for the third straight session and ended 11 paise higher at 95.88 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, supported by lower crude oil prices amid signals of easing West Asia crisis. According to forex traders, the sustained outflow of foreign capital amid selling pressure in domestic equity markets, as well as an elevated dollar index ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision, capped gains for the local currency.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.75 and touched the intraday high of 95.63 before ending the session at 95.88 (provisional) against the greenback, up 11 paise from its previous closing level.
On Monday, the rupee appreciated sharply by 54 paise to close at 95.99 against the US dollar, after rising 20 paise in the preceding session on Friday.
Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said the rupee strengthened on the halting of strikes between the US and Iran.
“Traders may take cues from CB (Conference Board) consumer confidence data from the US. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.35 to 96.05,” Choudhary said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08 per cent higher at 101.46.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 2.63 per cent lower at USD 86.04 per barrel in futures trade.
Analysts said oil prices crashed as the US and Iran refrained from attacking each other’s targets for the third consecutive day and mediators achieved progress in getting both sides back to negotiations.
US President Donald Trump said Iran had asked for more discussions, reaching out directly “because we’ve been hitting them very hard.” Iran has, however, said there are no direct talks underway.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 69.86 points, or 0.09 per cent, to settle at 76,765.92, while the Nifty fell 10.60 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 23,985.35.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth `1,688.23 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.
