Rupee Marginally Up 1ps To 84.90/$

Mumbai: The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled for the day higher by 1paisa at 84.90 against the US dollar on Tuesday, weighed down by disappointing trade balance data and weak domestic markets. Forex traders said the rupee is likely to remain under pressure due to concerns over slowdown in the economy and dollar demand from importers and foreign banks. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.89 and touched an all-time low of 84.93 against the greenback during intra-day trade.

The unit finally ended the session marginal-ly higher by 1paisa at 84.90 against the dollar. On Monday, the rupee depreciated 11paise to close at an all-time low of 84.91 against the US dollar. “We expect the rupee to trade with a neg-ative bias on weak domestic markets and concerns over slowdown in the economy. A strong US dollar and FII outflows may further weigh on the rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary -- Research Ana-lyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, India’s exports in November contracted 4.85 per cent year-on-year to USD 32.11 billion, while the trade deficit widened to an all-time high of USD 37.84 billion due to a record surge in gold imports. The country’s gold imports in November reached a record high of USD 14.86 billion, registering a four-fold increase, mainly on account of festival and wedding demands, according to commerce ministry data.