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.

Forex traders said the rupee is likely to remain under pressure unless there is a softening in the dollar index or a slowdown in foreign fund outflows. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Declining for the fourth straight session, the rupee dropped 2 paise to hit a new lifetime low of 84.39 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Monday (November 11, 2024), weighed down by persistent foreign fund outflows and a muted trend in domestic equities.

Forex traders said the rupee is likely to remain under pressure unless there is a softening in the dollar index or a slowdown in foreign fund outflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.38 against the U.S. dollar. During the session, the local currency touched a high of 84.37 and a low of 84.39. It finally settled at 84.39 (provisional), registering a loss of 2 paise against its previous close.

On Friday (November 8, 2024), the rupee dropped 5 paise to hit the lowest level of 84.37 against the U.S. dollar, registering a decline for the third straight session.

In the last four sessions, the local unit has lost 30 paise against the greenback.

The USD-INR pair fell to a record low on Monday (November 11, 2024) as the U.S. dollar index strengthened on Donald Trump’s growth agenda optimism. Foreign investors, following an outflow of $11 billion in October, have withdrawn around $1.50 billion from Indian equities in November.

The Reserve Bank’s intervention may support the domestic currency. Moreover, traders look forward to the India and the U.S. CPI inflation data scheduled to be released this week, Praveen Singh — Associate VP, Fundamental Currencies and Commodities, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said, adding the domestic currency is expected to trade with a bearish tilt in the near future.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.29% higher at 105.30.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.04% to $73.10 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 9.83 points, or 0.01%, to close at 79,496.15 points, while Nifty fell 6.90 points, or 0.03%, to settle at 24,141.30 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday (November 8, 2024), as they offloaded shares worth ₹3,404.04 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India’s forex reserves declined by $2.675 billion to $682.13 billion for the week ended November 1, the RBI said on Friday (November 8, 2024).

In the previous week, the overall reserves had dropped by $3.463 billion to $684.805 billion. At September-end, the reserves had hit an all-time high of $704.885 billion.