Rupee appreciated 3 paise to close at 83.56 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, on positive domestic market, wherein benchmark sensitive index Nifty touched a fresh all-time high.
Forex traders said rupee is trading in a narrow range as all eyes are on the U.S. May CPI print and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate decision on the global front and India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) on the domestic front.
Moreover, the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and elevated crude oil prices weighed on the local unit and restricted the upmove.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.56. During the trading session, the rupee touched an intraday high of 83.51 and a low of 83.56. It finally settled for the day at 83.56 (provisional) against the greenback, registering an increase of 3 paise from its previous closing level.
On Tuesday, the rupee settled for the day lower by 9 paise at 83.59 against the U.S. dollar.
The Indian rupee appreciated on positive domestic markets. Nifty touched a fresh all-time high. However, a positive U.S. dollar and surge in crude oil prices capped sharp gains, said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias as U.S. dollar is expected to strengthen amid expectations of a no change in Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.”
“However, investors would watch out for Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech for cues on rate cut. Traders may take cues from India’s CPI and IIP data. Traders may also take cues from CPI data from the U.S. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of ₹83.20 to ₹84,” Mr. Choudhary added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 105.20, lower by 0.03%. The U.S. dollar gained on expectations of further delay in first interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.11% to $82.83 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 149.98 points, or 0.20%, to close at 76,606.57 points. The broader NSE Nifty settled 58.10 points, or 0.25%, higher to settle at an all-time high of 23,322.95 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday, selling shares worth ₹111.04 crore, according to exchange data.