Rupee trades in narrow range against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, Mar 11 (PTI) The rupee witnessed range-bound trading in initial deals against the US dollar on Monday, as the support from fresh foreign fund inflows was negated by a negative trend in domestic equities.

Forex traders said the rupee exhibited strength supported by a weak dollar and easing crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 82.74 against the dollar, but soon pared the losses and touched 82.64 against the greenback in initial trade, higher by 3 paise from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee climbed 16 paise to settle at 82.67 against the US dollar.

The forex market was closed on Friday for Mahashivratri.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was at 102.72, higher by 0.02 per cent.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.67 per cent to USD 81.53 per barrel.

According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, rupee is expected to move in a range of 82.68 to 82.88 with a slow appreciation bias as inflows are expected to dominate the sessions.

“As many as seven IPOs are out for grabs in this week while eight firms will list on the bourses in India,” Bhansali said. Meanwhile, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) States — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland — has signed a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with India. Under the mega trade pact, the four European countries are looking at making an investment of USD 100 billion in India over the next 15 years.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 114.49 points or 0.15 per cent lower at 74,004.90 points. The broader NSE Nifty was down 21.60 points or 0.1 per cent to 22,471.95 points.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday as they bought shares worth Rs 7,304.11 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India’s forex reserves jumped USD 6.55 billion to USD 625.626 billion for the week ended March 1, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had risen by USD 2.975 billion to USD 619.072 billion.