Rupee settles flat at 83.73

Mumbai: The rupee moved in a narrow range before settling flat at 83.73 (provisional) against US dollar on Monday as a firm American currency in overseas markets offset the gains from weak crude oil prices. Forex traders said a recovery in the US dollar and dollar demand from importers restricted gains for the domestic unit. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.70 and touched a low of 83.74 against the dollar during the trading session. It finally settled at 83.73 (provisional) against the American currency, unchanged from its previous close. On Friday, the rupee recovered from its all-time low level and appreciated 5 paise to 83.73 against the US dollar.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on month-end dollar demand from importers and oil marketing companies. A recovery in the US Dollar ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting this week may also weigh on the rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Choudhary further noted that “a positive tone in the domestic markets and fresh foreign fund inflows may support the rupee at lower levels. Investors may remain cautious ahead of the FOMC, Bank of England (BoE) and Bank of Japan (BoJ) meeting this week.