Rupee settles on flat note, up 2 paise at 95.20

The rupee settled on a flat note on Friday, higher by just 2 paise at 95.22 (provisional) against the US dollar, on heightened risk aversion due to fragile negotiations between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz.

Forex traders said risk aversion in global markets due to uncertainty on the deal between Iran and Oman and an overnight jump in crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.27 against the greenback and traded in a range of 95.19-95.28 during the session. It eventually settled at 95.20 (provisional), higher by 2 paise from its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 14 paise to close at 95.22 against the US dollar.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on uncertainty over the deal between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz. However, markets may remain volatile over any decision over the weekend.

“Any positive news may support the rupee and vice versa. Traders may also take cues from the non-farm employment report from the US. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95 to 95.60,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.90, down 0.02 per cent. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.23 per cent at $82.30 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex dropped 455.59 points to settle at 78,499.17, while the Nifty was down 65.35 points to 24,570.65.  Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 17.86 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.