Rupee and US dollar settle almost unchanged at 83.39

In anticipation of the Fed Meeting, investors stayed away from the markets on Monday, causing the rupee to remain almost unchanged and end the day 1 paisa down at 83.39 (provisional) versus the US dollar.

The strong equities market and a steady influx of foreign capital, according to forex dealers, did not improve investor morale.

Later this week, the US Federal Reserve is anticipated to make its monetary policy announcement.

The local unit started at 83.39 versus the US dollar on the interbank foreign exchange market. It reached an intraday high of 83.37 before finishing at 83.39 (provisional), which is 1 paisa higher than its previous close.

The rupee dropped 4 paise to settle at 83.40 versus the US dollar on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the strength of the US dollar relative to a basket of six other currencies, was up 0.04 percent at 103.67 in the meanwhile.

Oil Costs

The world oil benchmark, Brent crude futures, increased 0.41 percent to USD 75.53 a barrel.

Home Indices

Regarding the local stock market, the Sensex reached a record high of 69,928.53 points after rising 102.93 points, or 0.15 percent. The Nifty reached a new closing high of 20,997.10 points, up 27.70 points, or 0.13 percent.

FII

According to exchange statistics, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 3,632.30 crore on Friday, making them net purchasers in the capital markets.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained the retail inflation forecast for the current fiscal year at 5.4% and the benchmark repurchase rate at 6.5% on Friday.

India’s foreign currency reserves surpassed USD 600 billion for the first time in about four months on December 1, reaching USD 604 billion, according to the most recent RBI statistics.