Rupee Settles Flat At 83.96/$

Mumbai: Rupee traded on a flat note and settled at 83.96 against the US dollar on Friday as surging crude oil prices amid volatile geopolitics weighed on the local unit, while the Reserve Bank intervened to prevent the domestic currency from touching its lowest level. Forex traders said a weak American currency against major Asian rivals as well as RBI’s move to sell dollars supported the local unit.

However, it was weighed down by weak domestic equity markets and unabated outflow of foreign funds. At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 83.96 and moved between a narrow range of 83.93 and 83.97 against the greenback. The unit failed to recover from its deep plunge witnessed in previous sessions and ended flat at 83.96 against the dollar.

On Thursday, the rupee slid 14paise to settle at 83.96 against the American currency. The unit had touched its all-time low of 84.09 on August 5. Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said the rupee traded nearly flat amid reports of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) selling dollars in the short-term offshore markets which prevented the Indian currency from hitting a new record low.