Rupee ends flat at 83.11 against the US dollar

The Indian rupee ended flat against the US dollar on Monday, amid selling in Asian peers. The local currency ended at 83.11 a dollar as compared to its Friday’s close of 83.10.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.14% to 103.23.

On Friday, the rupee ended 5 paise higher at 83.10 a dollar.

“The Indian rupee depreciated on a surge in crude oil prices and selling pressure by foreign investors. However, the weak tone in US dollar and positive domestic markets cushioned the downside,” said Anuj Choudhary - Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

The US dollar declined after the Chinese central bank reduced a key rate by 10 basis points to 3.45% to stimulate the economy leading to risk on sentiments.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on rising global crude oil prices and overall strength in the US dollar amid the hawkish US Federal Reserve. However, positive domestic markets and any intervention by the Reserve Bank of India may support rupee at lower levels. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of ₹82.80 to ₹83.50,” Choudhary added.

Most investors will be taking cues from the BRICS summit and the Jackson Hole Symposium, traders said.

Meanwhile, India's foreign exchange reserves jumped $708 million to $602.161 billion for the week ended August 11, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.

This is the first increase in the kitty after declining for three consecutive weeks. 

Crude oil prices rose. Brent crude gained 0.84% to $85.51 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 1.06% to $82.11 a barrel.

On the domestic front, the Indian equity indices closed with decent gains on Monday, snapping their two-day losing run, in light of mixed global cues.

The Sensex ended the session 267.41 points, or 0.41%, higher at 65,216.09, while the Nifty50 rose 83.45 points, or 0.43%, to settle at 19,393.60.

On Friday, the Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold Indian shares worth ₹266.98 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) net purchased shares to the tune of ₹339.18 crore, as per provisional data available on the exchanges.

(With inputs from PTI)