Rupee trades in narrow range against U.S. dollar

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| Photo Credit: VENKATACHALAPATHY C

The rupee was trading in a narrow range against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Monday, amid a negative trend in domestic equities.

Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as sustained foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.25 against the dollar and then touched a high of 83.23, and a low of 83.27 against the greenback.

On Friday, the rupee settled at 83.26 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.36% lower at 103.54.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.73% to $81.20 per barrel.

“Rupee opened virtually unchanged as demand for dollars continues unabated and RBI keeps its supply tap on,” said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 97.04 points or 0.15% lower at 65,697.69 points. The broader NSE Nifty declined 17.05 points or 0.09% to 19,714.75 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they sold shares worth ₹477.76 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India’s forex kitty decreased by $462 million to $590.321 billion for the week ended November 10, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In the previous week, the overall reserves had increased by $4.672 billion to $590.783 billion.