Rupee falls 3 paise to close at 86.08 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee gave up its gains and settled for the day lower by 3 paise at 86.08 against the US dollar on Wednesday, weighed down by the recovery in the US Dollar index and selling pressure from foreign funds.

Forex traders said the ceasefire between Israel and Iran has led to a rise in risk appetite. Moreover, a strong show in the domestic equity market prevented steep losses in the local unit, they said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 86.00 against the US dollar and traded in the range of 85.79-86.14 before settling at 86.08, down 3 paise from its previous close.

The Indian rupee closed almost flat amid quiet regional price action. “Traders are now focused on upcoming trade-related updates for short-term direction. Near-term, USD/INR has support at 85.10 and resistance at 85.90,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

The local unit had logged its steepest single-day gain in nearly five years on Tuesday to end 73 paise higher at 86.05 against the greenback.

“The rupee made a high of 85.79 before oil companies stepped in and took it lower to 86.13 with the market still sceptical of the Iran-Israel ceasefire,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

“We await the current account data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to gauge how it performed during 2024-25, while the IIP data is also due to be announced today (Wednesday),” he said, adding that the rupee is expected in the range of 85.75-86.50 on Thursday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.43 per cent to USD 68.10 per barrel in futures trade after US President Donald Trump claimed to have brokered a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading up 0.21 per cent at 98.06.

Meanwhile, in the domestic equity market, Sensex jumped 700.40 points to settle at 82,755.51, while Nifty surged 200.40 points to 25,244.75.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,427.74 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.