The Indian rupee gained 2 paise to close at 87.19 against the US dollar on Wednesday amid volatile global sentiment, driven by tariff uncertainties and a rebound in the US dollar index. Crude oil price increases also affected the rupee’s gains.
Forex analysts said an upward move in crude oil prices also impacted the local unit and capped its gain as selling pressure in domestic equity and outflow of foreign capital continued.
Also, market participants stayed cautious, awaiting cues from macroeconomic data to be released in India and the US later in the day.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 87.24 and touched the intraday low of 87.32 against the greenback. The unit also hit the day’s high of 87.17 before ending the session at 87.19 (provisional) against the dollar, 2 paise higher from its previous session’s closing level.
The rupee ended 10 paise higher at 87.21 against the dollar on Tuesday, a day after losing 36 paise.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.18 per cent at 103.45.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.55 per cent higher at US 69.94 per barrel in futures trade.
The domestic equity market closed on a flat note with the 30-share BSE Sensex ending 72.56 points, or 0.10 per cent lower at 74,029.76 and the broader Nifty settling 27.40 points, or 0.12 per cent, down at 22,470.50 points.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,823.76 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
According to experts, uncertainties over tariff moves intensified after President Donald Trump said the US would double the forthcoming levy on steel and aluminium to 50 per cent if they come from Canada but later hinted that he might reconsider the additional hike.
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