Rupee holds steady against US dollar in early trade

Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as sustained foreign fund outflows and strength of the American currency in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiments.

Mumbai: The rupee was trading in a narrow range against the US 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 strength of the American currency in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiments.

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At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.25 against the dollar and then touched an early high of 83.24, and a low of 83.26 against the greenback.

On Friday, the rupee settled at 83.25 against the US dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03 per cent higher at 106.59.

Oil prices Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.23 per cent to USD 89.37 per barrel.

“Asian currencies are slightly lower while European currencies continue to remain on the lower side as the dollar index is near 106.57, Brent oil at USD 88.43 per barrel and Gold crossed USD 2,000 per ounce,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 219.53 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 63,563.27. The broader NSE Nifty declined 66.10 points or 0.35 per cent to 18,981.15.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they sold shares worth Rs 1,500.13 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India’s forex reserves declined by USD 2.36 billion to USD 583.53 billion during the week ended October 20, according to the Reserve Bank of India data.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by USD 1.153 billion to USD 585.895 billion.