Rupee settles on flat note, up 2 paise at 95.95 against US dollar
The rupee settled on a flat note on Tuesday, just a tad over the psychologically important 96 per dollar level, driven by possible RBI intervention and a pullback in oil prices following hopes of negotiations between the US and Iran. Forex traders said gains in the rupee were capped by US dollar demand from local importers and a stronger greenback.
Additionally, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to intervene as the rupee approaches the 96 level against the American currency, they said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 96.03, then lost ground and touched an intraday low of 96.15 against the American currency. At the end of Tuesday’s trading session, the domestic unit was quoted at 95.95 (provisional) against the greenback, higher by 2 paise over its previous close.
On Monday, the rupee breached the 96 level for the second time in two weeks.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on risk aversion in global markets and concerns over elevated crude oil prices. A strong dollar and surge in US Treasury yields may also pressurise the rupee.
“However, hopes that US and Iran officials are expected to talk through mediators may support the rupee at lower levels. Any positive outcome may improve global sentiments and may see a fall in crude oil prices. Traders may take cues from JOLTS job openings and consumer confidence data from the US,” 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 101.44, higher by 0.24 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.40 per cent at USD 106.86 per barrel in futures trade.
“The immediate triggers for the rupee are the Qatar-mediated contacts between Washington and Tehran this week, US inflation data on Wednesday and payrolls on Friday. Soft US data would relieve the pressure on the metals; anything else keeps interest rates in the driving seat,” said Anindya Banerjee, Head of Commodity and Currency Research, Kotak Securities.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex dropped 242.65 points to settle at 72,529.07, while the Nifty was down 64.05 points to 22,716.20.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,353.22 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, government data released on Monday showed India’s industrial output increased by 8 per cent in August from 7.4 per cent in the preceding month, mainly due to a good show by the manufacturing sector.
