The rupee appreciated 25 paise to close at 86.33 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, supported by positive domestic equities and soft US dollar index.
Ahead of significant developments in the local and international economy, forex dealers predicted that the rupee will see significant volatility with a bearish tilt.
Additionally, investors remained tense due to the general uncertainty surrounding the global economy, which continued to affect both currencies and commodities.
The rupee opened at 86.56 versus the US dollar at the interbank foreign exchange. The local unit had intraday highs of 86.30 and 86.71 during the day.
It finally closed at 86.33 (provisional) against the US dollar, up 25 paise from its previous close.
On Tuesday, the rupee fell 13 paise to 86.58 against the US dollar.
“We expect the rupee to remain largely weak on underlying strength in the US dollar and overall weakness in the domestic markets. Importer demand for dollars may also pressurise the rupee. However, any extended sell-off in crude oil may support the rupee at lower levels,” Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said.
Choudhary added that upcoming remarks and announcements from the Trump administration might cause some market turbulence. “The USD-INR spot price is anticipated to fluctuate between 86.20 and 86.65,” he continued.
As traders considered the Trump Tariff Plan, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the US dollar relative to a basket of six other currencies, was down 0.15 percent to 107.89.
In futures trading, Brent crude, the world’s benchmark for oil, increased 0.48 percent to USD 79.67 per barrel.
Fears of strict US policies caused crude oil prices to drop, reaching USD 78 per barrel, a 4% drop from previous highs after President Trump mentioned raising US oil production.
The 30-share BSE Sensex increased 566.63 points, or 0.75 percent, to close at 76,404.99 points in the domestic equities market, while the Nifty increased 130.70 points, or 0.57 percent, to 23,155.35 points.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 5,920.28 crore on Tuesday, continuing to be net sellers in the capital markets.
Source: IE