Rupee inches lower to end at 83.31 against dollar

Currency market update: The rupee (INR) finished a lacklustre session negligibly weaker at 83.31 against the US dollar (USD) on Wednesday amid strength in the greenback overseas. The domestic currency declined by three paise for the day from its previous close after moving within a tight range throughout the session. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee began the day at 83.31 against the US dollar and dipped to as low as 83.34 during the session before settling at 83.31 for the day.

Analysts said that a correction in international oil prices lent support to the rupee against the American currency, but limited gains in a volatile session on Dalal Street played spoilsport.  

At the end of the sluggish session, the rupee stood 12 paise, or 0.1 per cent, stronger than an all-time low of 83.38 hit this week.

The US dollar recovered after minutes of the last scheduled meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the rate-deciding panel of the US central bank, released on Tuesday showed that the Fed's policy stance was slightly hawkish. 

Policymakers agreed that they would proceed "carefully" and only hike benchmark interest rates if progress in controlling inflation faltered, the minutes revealed.

The dollar index—which measures the value of the American currency against six peers other than the rupee—was last seen trading 0.1 per cent higher at 103.7. The gauge tracks the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound, the Canadian dollar, the Swedish krona and the Swiss franc. 

Crude oil prices fell sharply in quiet pre-US Thanksgiving holiday trading, as the market awaited news on output cuts from the OPEC+ grouping of top oil producers and looked for confirmation of a sharp build-up in US crude stocks.

While Brent crude futures were down 1.9 per cent at 80.9 a barrel at the last count, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 2.4 per cent at $75.9 a barrel. 

Meanwhile, domestic equity benchmarks Nifty50 and Sensex finished yet another volatile session with gains of 0.1 per cent, supported by gains in IT and FMCG shares though losses in financial stocks played spoilsport and limited the upside.

On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net offloaded equities to the tune of Rs 306.6 crore on Tuesday, continuing to be net sellers for the fourth day in a row, while domestic institutional investors net purchased stocks worth Rs 721.2 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

With inputs from agencies

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