Mumbai, Feb 29 (PTI) The rupee on Thursday appreciated 2 paise to close at 82.89 against the US dollar, tracking a weak greenback against major crosses overseas and lower crude oil prices. Besides, a positive trend in equity markets also supported the domestic unit, forex traders said.
However, market participants were also cautious ahead of the release of domestic GDP data, they added.
Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst, LKP Securities, said the rupee traded within a narrow range, reflecting sideways and range-bound movements.
“The rupee is currently positioned within a broader range, awaiting significant developments in the economy, such as elections or global events. Despite global uncertainties, the rupee has performed relatively well, with only major domestic events expected to impact its movement,” he added.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.88 and touched the intra-day low of 82.94 against the greenback. The local unit finally settled at 82.89, a rise of two paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee settled 2 paise lower at 82.91 against the US dollar.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.19 per cent to 103.78.
Anuj Choudhary Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said the Indian rupee was under pressure due to selling by foreign institutional investors and dollar demand from importers.
He said the US dollar declined as the US GDP growth estimate edged lower while other macroeconomic data were also disappointing.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on dollar demand from OMCs (oil marketing companies) and importers. However, a weak dollar and positive domestic as well as European markets may support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from India’s fiscal deficit and GDP data,” he said, adding that “USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.70 to Rs 83.15”.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.17 per cent to USD 83.54 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex climbed 195.42 points, or 0.27 per cent, to settle at 72,500.30 points. The Nifty rose 31.65 points, or 0.14 per cent, to close at 21,982.80 points.
India’s economic growth accelerated to 8.4 per cent in the October-December quarter of this fiscal, mainly due to double-digit growth in manufacturing and good showing by mining & quarrying and construction sectors.
The GDP (gross domestic product) growth was 4.3 per cent in the October-December 2022 quarter, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday.
The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to a 15-month low of 3.6 per cent in January on account of poor performance of sectors like refinery products, fertiliser, steel and electricity, according to the official data released on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the government’s fiscal deficit at Rs 11 lakh crore at January end touched 63.6 per cent of the revised annual target, according to the official data released on Thursday.
In the corresponding period last year, the fiscal deficit or gap between the expenditure and revenue was 67.8 per cent of the Revised Estimates (RE) of the Union Budget 2022-23.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday as they bought shares worth Rs 3,568.11 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data. PTI HVA BAL BAL
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