Rupee settles on flat note, up 1 paisa at 82.63 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled for the day higher by 1 paisa at 82.63 against the US dollar, as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by rising American currency and recovery in crude oil prices. Forex traders said the Indian rupee witnessed modest gains on Monday on positive domestic equities. However, rising US dollars and recovery in crude oil prices capped sharp gains.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.58 and finally settled for the day at 82.63 against the American currency. During the day, the rupee witnessed an intra-day high of 82.52 and a low of 82.65 against the greenback. On Friday, the rupee declined by 8 paise to settle at 82.64 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent higher at 104.07. The US dollar gained on somewhat hawkish comments from the Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium, said Anuj Choudhary - Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas. "We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on the strong dollar and recovery in crude oil prices. Selling pressure from FIIs may also weigh on rupee," Choudhary said.

However, a positive tone in domestic markets and a rise in risk appetite may support the domestic currency at lower levels. "Any intervention by the RBI may also support rupee. Investors may remain cautious ahead of jobs data from US and India's manufacturing PMI and GDP data later this week. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.30 to Rs 83," Choudhary added. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.04 per cent to USD 84.51 per barrel. On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex closed 110.09 points or 0.17 per cent higher at 64,996.60.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 40.25 points or 0.21 per cent to 19,306.05. "There were no fresh triggers as Jackson Hole was a non event, as Fed spoke on expected lines. Over this week, the US jobs report and the Chinese currency will be key events to watch. We expect a broad range of 82.40 and 82.80 on spot," Anindya Banerjee, VP - Currency Derivatives & Interest Rate Derivatives at Kotak Securities Ltd, said. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in capital markets on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,393.25 crore, according to exchange data. India's foreign exchange reserves dropped by USD 7.273 billion to USD 594.888 billion in the week ended August 18, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. In the previous week, the overall reserves had risen by USD 708 million to USD 602.161 billion