Mumbai, Oct 30 (PTI) Rupee depreciated 3 paise to close at 84.08 against US dollar on Wednesday, weighed down by weak domestic markets and month-end dollar demand from importers.
Forex traders said suspected intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) supported the local currency at lower levels.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.06 against the greenback. It traded in a tight range and ended the day at 84.08, down 3 paise from its previous close On Tuesday, the rupee gained 2 paise to settle at 84.05 against the US dollar.
The local currency has been hovering around its all-time low level. Rupee touched its lowest closing level of 84.10 against the dollar on October 11.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.15 per cent lower at 104.16. Forex traders said the dollar declined on disappointing jobs data from the US.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.53 per cent to USD 71.50 per barrel in futures trade.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a mixed to negative bias on weak domestic markets and sustained FII outflows. Month-end dollar demand from importers may further weigh on the rupee.
“However, softening of US dollar amid disappointing jobs markets may support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may watch out for Q3 2024 GDP data and non-farm payrolls report from the US this week,” said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 426.85 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 79,942.18 points. The Nifty fell 126.00 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 24,340.85 points.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,613.65 crore, according to exchange data.
According to Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, the rupee stayed range-bound as Indian markets faced significant FII outflows exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore in October 2024.
“This selling pressure was largely offset by DIIs, who injected around Rs 99,000 crore, preventing the rupee from a major decline and keeping it below the 84.00 mark. Moving forward, the rupee is expected to trade within a range of 83.80 to 84.20,” Trivedi said.
Exchange data also showed that domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 4,518.28 crore on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, according to the latest government data released on Wednesday, the output of eight key infrastructure sectors expanded by 2 per cent in September, though the growth was slower than the 9.5 per cent registered in the same month last year. PTI DRR HVA
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.