Rupee ends 13 paise lower at 73.81 against USD

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit witnessed a highly volatile trading session. It opened at 73.45, pared the gains and finally closed at 73.81 against the greenback.

Mumbai: The rupee pared its initial gains to close 13 paise lower at 73.81 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking recovery in dollar index and emergence of selling in domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit witnessed a highly volatile trading session. It opened at 73.45, pared the gains and finally closed at 73.81 against the greenback, registering a decline of 13 paise over its previous close of 73.68.

During the session, the local unit saw an intra-day high of 73.42 and a low of 73.82 against the American currency.

“RBI seems to have intervened aggressively in the forex market through futures. The recovery in the dollar index and profit booking in domestic equities also weighed on the rupee,” Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.07 per cent at 91.37.

Analysts, meanwhile, said that investor focus will be on the Monetary Policy Committee’s three-day interest rate-setting meeting that started Wednesday, with the decision due on Friday.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 357.35 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 37.40 points or 0.08 per cent lower at 44,618.04, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 4.70 points or 0.04 per cent to 13,113.75.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.02 per cent higher at USD 47.43 per barrel.