Forex traders said the rupee traded in a narrow range with a weakening bias, as a strong dollar limited gains for emerging market currencies, including the rupee.
The rupee settled 3 paise lower at 90.64 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday. The decline followed strength in the American currency in overseas markets and a negative trend in domestic equities.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.69 against the dollar, reaching an intraday high of 90.60 and a low of 90.79. By the end of the trading session, it closed at 90.64, down 3 paise from the previous day.
On Thursday, the rupee had gained 17 paise, closing at 90.61 against the US dollar.
“Risk sentiment has been dampened by renewed concerns over the disruptive impact of AI across industries. Safe haven assets rallied,” IFA Global noted in a research report.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against six major currencies, was up 0.10% at 97.01.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded slightly lower at USD 67.49 per barrel in futures.
In domestic equities, the Sensex dropped 1,048.16 points to settle at 82,626.76, while the Nifty fell 336.10 points to 25,471.10. On Thursday, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 108.42 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India introduced a new series of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Thursday. The benchmark, which tracks retail inflation, showed January data at 2.75%.
The new CPI series covers more goods and services and updates the weightage of different items. It also includes data from more rural and urban markets, aiming to provide better-quality information for monetary and fiscal policy decisions.
Also Read : PM MITRA Scheme Explained: India’s Mega Textile Parks and the Launch of Warangal Hub
