Rupee recovers 16ps to 83.93/$

Mumbai: The rupee recovered from its all-time low level and settled for the day 16 paise higher at 83.93 against the US dollar on Tuesday, on suspected intervention by the Reserve Bank. Forex traders said mixed to weak global equities on rising concerns over recession fears in the US and the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East dented investor sentiments.

Moreover, the sentimental impact of unwinding of the Yen carry-trade weighed on the riskier currencies such as the rupee. However, suspected intervention by the Reserve Bank supported the local unit. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.92 and touched an intra-day high of 83.84 and a low of 83.97 against the dollar during the session. It finally settled at 83.93 against the American currency, up 16paise from its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee slumped37 paise to settle at an all-time low of 84.09 against the US dollar. “We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on risk aversion in the global markets, amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and rising risk of recession in the US which may lead to outflows by foreign investors. However, overall weakness in the US dollar and declining crude oil prices may support the rupee at lower levels.