The rupee fell by 6 paise to close at 88.68 against the US dollar

The rupee consolidated within a narrow range and settled 6 paise lower at 88.68 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday as foreign fund outflows and continued demand for dollars from local importers, including oil companies, put pressure on the local currency.Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a tight range as overnight decline in crude oil prices and renewed optimism over US-India trade talks provided a stable anchor and limited the downside.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 88.66 against the US dollar and touched an intraday high of 88.63 and a low of 88.73 during the day.The domestic unit finally settled at 88.68 (provisional), registering a loss of 6 paise over the previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee depreciated 12 paise to close at 88.62 against the US dollar.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a mild negative impact on dollar demand from importers. However, a positive tone in domestic markets and falling global crude prices may support the rupee at lower levels. The USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 88.40 to 89,” said Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.29 percent lower at 99.20 after the Trump administration passed the bill to end a record 43-day shutdown. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.21 percent lower at $62.58 per barrel in futures trading.

In the domestic equity market, Sensex rose marginally at 84,478.67, while the Nifty closed almost flat at 25,879.15.

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,750.03 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.

Meanwhile, the government on Wednesday approved an Export Promotion Mission (EPM) with an outlay of Rs 25,060 crore for six financial years starting this fiscal, a move that will help exporters cope with the high tariffs imposed by the US.

The mission will be implemented through two sub-programmes: Niryat Protsahan (Rs 10,401 crore) and Niryat Disha (Rs 14,659 crore).

On the domestic macroeconomic front, retail inflation fell to a record low of 0.25 percent in October following a reduction in GST rates on nearly 380 mass consumer products, coupled with subdued prices for vegetables, fruits and eggs.

October’s Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation was the lowest in the current series (base year 2012), which includes data since January 2014.

Inflation was 1.44 percent in September and 6.21 percent in October 2024.