Mumbai: The rupee ended almost flat at 74.93 against the US dollar on Friday due to a caution prevailing in the forex market in view of mounting coronavirus cases and US-China trade tensions.
Starting off on a tepid note, the rupee fell to a low of 75.04, but recovered slightly thereafter and moved in a narrow band throughout the session.
It finally settled at 74.93, gaining 1 paisa over its previous close. On Thursday too, the rupee had closed steady after the Reserve Bank maintained a status quo in its policy rates.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which gauges the value of the greenback against a basket of key global currencies, rose 0.32 per cent to 93.08.
Analysts said forex market sentiment was mainly guided by growing US-China trade tensions and mounting coronavirus cases in the country.
Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services: “The risk-off mood due to US-China trade war and coronavirus concerns have kept USDINR spot above the crucial support of 74.75. Also, it is respecting the immediate resistance of 75.20, only sustained FII selling from equity segment will push the USDINR spot higher.”
“We have to see how US-China trade negotiations take place, along with today’s US NFP (non-farm payroll) data as investors await a clearer picture of the heath of US economy. So for next week, we expect the broader range to be 74.60-75.30,” he added.
The number of COVID-19 cases in India has crossed 20 lakh-mark and the death toll climbed past 41,000, official data showed.
In fresh concerns for global trade outlook, the US is considering a proposal to crackdown on Chinese companies that are listed on American bourses and do not follow US audit requirements, according to a report.
On the domestic equities front, the BSE Sensex closed 15.12 points or 0.04 per cent higher at 38,040.57 while the NSE Nifty ended 13.90 points or 0.12 per cent up at 11,214.05.
Foreign investors infused Rs 637.43 crore on a net basis into Indian equities on Thursday, exchange data showed.
Global crude oil benchmark Brent was trading lower by 0.42 per cent at USD 44.90 a barrel. On the domestic equities front, the BSE Sensex was down 41.56 points or 0.11 per cent at 37,983.89; while the NSE Nifty traded 2.95 points or 0.26 per cent lower at 11,197.20.
On weekly basis, the Indian rupee lost 12 paise against the US dollar.
The Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 74.8591 and for rupee/euro at 89.0738. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 98.5440 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 71.00.