Forex traders said the Indian rupee is trading in a narrow range ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting later this week.
The rupee ended 9 paise lower at 74.52 against the US dollar in early trade on January 24 as higher domestic equities and crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.
Forex traders said the Indian rupee is trading in a narrow range ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting later this week.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened weak against the US dollar at 74.43, then slipped further to 74.52 against the greenback, registering a fall of 5 paise from the previous close.
On January 21, the rupee had closed at 74.43 against the US dollar.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.08% to 95.72.
“The US dollar has flattened marginally upwards in Asian trade on Monday morning, as traders now eye the US Fed’s January 25-26 meeting and hint at the possibility of pushback from Chairman Jerome Powell on the momentum. The interest rate hike, the price of which has already been decided by global investors, Reliance Securities said in a research note.
The note said the meeting will confirm that the US Fed will begin to withdraw liquidity soon and will begin raising rates later this year.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 0.91% to $88.69 a barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 658.24 points or 1.11% lower at 58,378.94, while the broader NSE Nifty fell over 210.10 points or 1.19% at 17,407.05.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they sold shares worth Rs 3,148.58 crore, according to stock exchange data.
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