Rupee turns flat at 83.94 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, Aug 16 (PTI) The Indian rupee turned flat at 83.94 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday amid concerns over elevated crude oil prices and the outflow of foreign capital from domestic equity markets.

However, a positive sentiment in the domestic as well as global equity markets and a weak American currency supported the rupee, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.93 and slipped further to trade at its previous session’s closing level of 83.94 against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the rupee settled 3 paise higher at 83.94 against the US dollar. The forex markets were closed on Thursday on account of the Independence Day.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally lower by 0.01 per cent at 102.80.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.25 per cent to USD 80.84 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex surged 811.34 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 79,917.22 points. The broader Nifty also climbed 246.20 points, or 1.02 per cent, to 24,389.95 points.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,595.27 crore, according to exchange data.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, wholesale inflation fell to a 3-month low of 2.04 per cent in July on the decline in prices of food items, especially vegetables, government data released on Wednesday showed.

The latest government data released on Wednesday showed India’s exports contracted 1.2 per cent to USD 33.98 billion in July, while the trade deficit widened to USD 23.5 billion.