Rupee settles 1 paisa lower at 84.43 against U.S. dollar

The rupee recovered from its lowest level of 84.46 to settle 4 paise higher at 84.42 against the U.S. dollar
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The rupee traded in an almost flat note and settled 1 paisa lower at 84.43 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday (November 19, 2024), as support from positive domestic equity markets and lower crude oil prices was negated by the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.

Forex traders said the Ukraine-Russia war took a new turn with Russia updating its nuclear doctrine and Ukraine aimed American missiles at Russia. Safe haven assets like Gold, JPY, CHF and to some extent dollar were bought and the rupee felt the heat and was sold at the closing hours.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.39 and stayed range-bound throughout the session. It finally settled at 84.43 (provisional) against the greenback, down 1 paisa from its previous close.

On Monday (November 18, 2024), the rupee recovered from its lowest level of 84.46 to settle 4 paise higher at 84.42 against the U.S. dollar.

Praveen Singh, Associate VP, Fundamental Currencies and Commodities, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said the USD-INR pair is likely to trade in this range in the near term until the U.S. yields break higher decisively. The 10-year U.S. yields face a crucial resistance at 4.50%.

“Traders will closely monitor the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. In addition, India’s PMIs data slated to be released on Friday (November 15, 2024) will also be on traders’ radar,” he added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.15% at 106.35.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined by 0.42% to $72.99 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 239.37 points, or 0.31%, to close at 77,578.38 points, while Nifty climbed 64.70 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 23,518.50 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday (November 18, 2024), as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,403.40 crore, according to exchange data.