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The Indian rupee continued to trade flat against the US dollar, remaining at 84.07 in early trade on Friday. Despite efforts to recover, the rupee is still hovering near its all-time low, driven by strong US dollar demand and significant foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders observed that although the American currency remained firm, the domestic equity market's slight recovery helped prevent the rupee from weakening further. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened flat at 84.07, maintaining its previous day's closing level.
On Thursday, the rupee also ended flat at 84.07 against the US dollar. Since 11 October, the rupee has struggled to gain momentum, following its lowest close of 84.10 against the dollar.
Analysts have pointed to the heavy selling by foreign investors as a major factor impacting the rupee's performance. Foreign investors are reportedly seeking better returns from markets such as China, making it more difficult for the Indian currency to bounce back. The rise in US treasury yields has also contributed to concerns over a potential slowdown in interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. This has further weighed on the rupee's ability to recover.
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Additionally, the geopolitical uncertainties surrounding the upcoming US presidential election have driven investors to seek safer investment options, limiting any chance of significant improvement in the rupee's performance, experts noted.
The US dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, edged up by 0.03 per cent, trading at 103.95, as per PTI reports. This further added to the pressure on the rupee.
In the commodities market, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, recorded a slight increase of 0.24 per cent to USD 74.56 per barrel.
On the domestic front, the equity markets witnessed a marginal rise, with the BSE Sensex climbing 44.38 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 80,109.54. Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced 27.35 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 24,426.75. However, both indices closed lower on Thursday, marking their fourth consecutive day of losses.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday, offloading shares worth Rs 5,062.45 crore, further straining the market.
(With inputs from PTI)
