Mumbai: The rupee recovered from its all-time low levels and appreciated 5 paise to close at 84.05 against the US dollar on Monday supported by strong domestic equity markets.
Forex traders said the rupee was weighed down by the strong US dollar and elevated crude oil prices.
However, they said, the Reserve Bank of India’s intervention, backed by record-high reserves supported the local unit at lower levels.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.06 against the greenback and traded in a tight range of 84.05 and 84.07. The unit settled for the day at 84.05, registering a rise of 5 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee fell 12 paise to a record low of 84.10 against the US dollar.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on foreign fund outflows and geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. Overall strength in the US dollar may further pressurise the rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
However, positive tone in the domestic markets may support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from retail sales and housing data from the US this week. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.90 to Rs 84.30, 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 102.97.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 2.51 per cent to USD 77.06 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex advanced 591.69 points, or 0.73 per cent, to close at 81,973.05 points. The Nifty rose 163.70 points, or 0.66 per cent, to settle at 25,127.95 points.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,731.59 crore, according to exchange data.
Forex traders said there has been significant foreign fund outflows and crude oil prices have surged by nearly 10 per cent, fuelled by Hurricane Milton’s impact on US production along with the tensions in the Middle East between Israel and Iran.
Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said, the rupee “which was allowed by the RBI to cross 84.00 on Friday looks now vulnerable to buying by FPIs and oil companies”.
“The Hyundai IPO does not seem very attractive and may not attract too much of foreign funds,” he added.
According to government data released on Monday, soaring vegetable prices pushed the retail inflation rate to a nine-month high of 5.49 pr cent in September.
The consumer price index (CPI)-based retail inflation was 3.65 per cent in August and 5.02 per in September 2023. The previous high inflation rate was witnessed in December 2023 at 5.69 per cent.
The RBI data released on Friday showed India’s forex reserves dropped by USD 3.709 billion to USD 701.176 billion for the week ended October 4.
In the previous reporting week, the reserves had jumped by USD 12.588 billion to an all-time high of USD 704.885 billion.
