India News | Rupee Settles Flat at 72.69 Against US Dollar

Mumbai, Feb 16 (PTI) The Indian rupee settled just 1 paisa lower at 72.69 against the US dollar on Tuesday as importers' greenback purchases offset the impact of a weak dollar overseas.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 72.64 against the American currency and witnessed an intra-day high of 72.63 and a low of 72.85.

It finally ended at 72.69, registering a fall of just 1 paisa over its previous close.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.29 per cent to 90.21.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 49.96 points or 0.10 per cent lower at 52,104.17, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 1.25 points or 0.01 per cent to 15,313.45.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,234.15 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.09 per cent to USD 63.24 per barrel.

"The Indian Rupee ended flat against the US currency on Tuesday, as importers' greenback purchases offset the impact of a weak dollar index," said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

The US dollar struggled at a three-week low as growing optimism about the outlook of the global economy pushed investors towards riskier asset classes, Iyer added.

Asian currencies also appreciated against the greenback and lent support.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting on Wednesday.

"Technically, the USD-INR Spot pair traded in a narrow range within 72.65-72.80 levels where below 72.90 could see downside pressure up to 72.60-72.48 levels. Resistance is at 72.85-73.00 levels," Iyer added.

According to Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at LKP Securities, "Rupee traded weak near 72.70 as Crude prices scale higher giving some base resistance near 72.50-72.60 zone for the rupee."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)