Rupee gains 4 paise to close at 94.84 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee on Thursday gained 4 paise to settle at 94.84 (provisional) against the US dollar, tracking a correction in global crude prices and a strengthening greenback overseas.

However, uncertainties over US-Iran talks weighed on the local currency and capped gains.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.01 against the US dollar, then lost further ground to hit an all-time intraday low of 95.34 before closing at 94.84 (provisional), up 4 paise from the previous close.

On Wednesday, the domestic currency lost 20 paise to close at 94.88 against the US dollar, its previous all-time low.

The local unit recorded its earlier intraday low of 95.22 on March 30.

"The rupee has come under strong pressure from the cumulative impact of three factors. One, the sharp spike in Brent crude to USD 123 is feared to widen India’s trade and current account deficits. Two, there appears to be no end to the sustained selling by FPIs in the context of the AI trade gaining momentum, attracting portfolio flows to a few AI stocks.

"Three, rising inflation in the US has pushed up the US 10-year bond yield to 4.4 per cent, which will further incentivise capital outflows," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.36 per cent to 98.47.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, corrected by 1.65 per cent to USD 116.08 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 582.86 points to settle at 76,913.50, and Nifty declined 180.10 points to 23,997.55.

Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,468.42 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

"We expect the Rupee to trade with a negative bias on month-end dollar demand from importers and rising global crude oil prices, which have raised inflation concerns. Geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, FII selling, may also pressurise the rupee.

"However, any intervention by the RBI may support the rupee at lower levels. USD/INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 94.80 to Rs 95.60," Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said.