Mumbai, The rupee appreciated by 5 paise to 83.22 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday supported by a positive trend in domestic equities. Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as sustained foreign fund outflows and strength of the American currency in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.24 against the dollar and then touched an early high of 83.22, registering a gain of 5 paise over its previous close.
On Monday, the rupee settled at 83.27 against the US dollar.
“This week, on the domestic front, no major economic data is expected to be released but on the global front, from US the dollar could react to Fed member’s speech and a couple of important economic data from the US,” said Gaurang Somaiya, forex and bullion analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial.
Somaiya further noted that “we expect the USDINR(Spot) to trade sideways and quote in the range of 83.05 and 83.50.”
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.06 per cent higher at 106.30.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.02 per cent to USD 89.67 per barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 325.65 points or 0.49 per cent higher at 66,492.58. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 98.15 points or 0.5 per cent to 19,829.90.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 593.66 crore, according to exchange data.
