Mumbai, Oct. 8 -- The rupee witnessed a range-bound trade on Wednesday and settled for the day slightly higher by 2 paise at 88.75 against the US dollar, aided by some foreign fund inflow.
Forex traders said the US dollar is holding its ground, yet beneath the dollar's steady facade lies a growing tension. At the same time, rupee faced pressure due to negative trend in domestic equities amid a rise in risk-off sentiments.
They said the rupee is likely to remain within a narrow range, supported by domestic triggers such as IPO-related inflows, and potential progress in US-India trade talks could gradually tilt sentiment in the rupee's favour.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 88.76 against the US dollar, touched an intraday low of 88.81 and finally settled for the day at 88.75, registering a marginal gain of 2 paise from its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee fell three paise to close at 88.77 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.88, higher by 0.31 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.25 per cent higher at USD 66.27 per barrel in futures trade.
FIIs purchased equities worth Rs 81.28 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.