Rupee traded in a narrow range and settled for the day lower by 5 paise to 84.07 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday (October 17, 2024), pressured by foreign fund outflows, a negative trend in domestic equities and broad strength of the American currency.

Forex traders said rupee witnessed range-bound trade as weak domestic markets and a strong US dollar weighed on the domestic currency, while a decline in crude oil prices and contained geopolitical tensions cushioned the downside.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 84.01 and traded in a narrow range of 83.99 and 84.07 and finally settled for the day at 84.07 (provisional), lower by 5 paise over its previous close of 84.02.

"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on strong dollar and weak domestic markets. FII outflows may further pressurise the rupee. However, soft crude oil prices and contained geopolitical tensions in the Middle East may support the rupee at lower levels," said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Traders may take cues from retail sales, industrial production and weekly unemployment claims data from the US, Choudhary said, adding that USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of ₹83.85 to ₹84.30.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was marginally up by 0.01% to 103.59 points.

"Dollar index rose as China's stimulus failed to impress the investors. Weak euro ahead of the ECB's monetary policy meeting decision also supported the American currency. ECB is expected to cut interest rates by 25 bps," Choudhary said.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, increased 0.50% to $74.59 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 494.75 points, or 0.61%, to close at 81,006.61 points, while the Nifty was down 221.45 points, or 0.89%, to 24,749.85 points.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth ₹3,435.94 crore, according to exchange data.

On the macroeconomic front, the country's merchandise exports rose marginally by 0.5% to $34.58 billion in September while the trade deficit narrowed to a five-month low at $20.78 billion.

According to official data released on Wednesday, imports increased by 1.6% to $55.36 billion in September compared to $54.49 billion in the year-ago period.