Rupee Trades In Narrow Range, Settles Flat At 73.64 Against Dollar

The rupee ended flat at 73.64 against the US dollar on Friday, December 11, while trading in a narrow range and tracking recovery in domestic equities towards the end of the session. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 73.65 against the dollar and registered an intra-day high of 73.56. It witnessed a low of 73.71. The rupee finally closed at 73.64 against the greenback, registering a marginal rise of two paise over its previous close. In an early trade session today, the rupee opened on a flat note, up by one paisa at 73.65 against the dollar. 

On Thursday, December 10, the domestic unit snapped its two-day winning streak to close nine paise lower at 73.66 against the dollar. During the week, the rupee witnessed a highly volatile trade session, recording marginal gains against the dollar, before logging its first loss on Thursday. It witnessed a surge of 30 paise against the dollar on Tuesday, December 8, amid market gains. The local unit then edged marginally higher by three paise the following day. 

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 0.12 per cent higher at 90.93. According to exchange data, the foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth ₹ 2,259.98 crore on a net basis on December 10.

“Due to coronavirus widespread, the dollar is loosing its safe haven properties and is keeping USDINR spot below the psychological level of 74. Also, next week is the Fed policy and we expect Powell to update the forecasts for growth and inflation along with dovish stance,” said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.