The Indian rupee edged slightly lower against the US dollar, closing at 82.78 (provisional) on Tuesday, as market participants awaited the release of crucial macroeconomic data. Forex traders noted a marginal decline in the rupee amid a positive trend in the US dollar and a rebound in crude oil prices. However, robust domestic markets and consistent foreign fund inflows provided support to the local currency.
Trading in the interbank foreign exchange market saw the rupee opening at 82.74 and fluctuating between an intra-day low of 82.78 and a high of 82.72 against the greenback. Ultimately, the rupee settled at 82.78 (provisional), recording a minor 2-paise decline from its previous close. This follows a decrease of 8 paise on Monday when the rupee settled at 82.75 against the US dollar.
Amidst anticipation of inflation data from the US, the dollar index, measuring the dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, showed a marginal decrease, trading at 102.85. Furthermore, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, saw a slight increase of 0.81% to $82.88 per barrel.
Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, expressed expectations for the rupee to exhibit a slight negative bias due to the dollar’s recovery and concerns over elevated crude oil prices. However, he highlighted the potential for support at lower levels, buoyed by a positive sentiment in domestic markets. Traders are likely to monitor India’s CPI and IIP data closely while remaining cautious ahead of inflation and budget deficit data from the US.
In the domestic equity market, the Sensex surged by 165.32 points (0.22%) to settle at 73,667.96 points, while the Nifty rose by 3.05 points (0.01%) to close at 22,335.70 points. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets on Monday, injecting ₹4,212.76 crore into shares, according to exchange data.
