Rupee ends flat at 95.89 against dollar after paring early gains

The rupee pared its initial gains to close unchanged at 95.89 against the US dollar on Friday. Support from domestic equities and lower crude prices helped cap losses, while a strong dollar weighed on the Indian currency, forex traders said

Mumbai: The rupee pared its initial gains to close unchanged at 95.89 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday amid a strong American currency.

Positive momentum in domestic equity markets, however, supported the Indian currency, forex traders said.

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They also said the rupee’s fall was capped as crude prices slipped below the USD 104-per-barrel level and US bond yields eased after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points. The Fed raised its target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4% on September 16.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.75 and touched an intraday high of 95.71 before settling at 95.89 (provisional) against the greenback, its previous closing level.

The local unit had ended 2 paise higher at 95.89 against the American currency on Thursday, after declining 150 paise, or nearly 1.5 per cent, in the preceding eight sessions from the closing level of 94.43 recorded on September 4.

Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said the rupee traded on a flat note after opening higher on firm domestic markets and weak crude oil prices. However, it gave up its initial gains as the dollar strengthened.

“Traders may take cues from industrial production data from the US. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 95.65 to Rs 96.15,” Choudhary said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02 per cent lower at 99.97.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.93 per cent lower at USD 103.85 per barrel in futures trade.

In domestic equities, the Sensex fell 19.63 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 74,294.96, while the Nifty gained 75.80 points, or 0.33 per cent, to close at 23,346.40.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,208.76 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.