Indian rupee opened on a flat note and was trading in a narrow range against the US dollar on Friday amid sustained demand for the greenback from importers and banks. Weak domestic equities also kept the demend for the local currency muted.
The domestic unit opened at 74.63 per dollar at the interbank forex market, and gained ground to touch 74.61 per American currency. In volatile trade, the local unit also touched 74.67 against the US currency.
On Thursday, the Indian rupee settled at 74.64 per dollar.
The rupee started on a flat note against the greenback as "RBI continues to mop up fund inflows and as weak risk appetite could limit appreciation," Reliance Securities said in a research note. It further added that the US dollar was flat to marginally weaker as vaccine optimism faded.
"The risk sentiment soured as investors turned their focus back to surging cases, possibility of fresh restrictions and delay in passage of second stimulus in the US," said Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global.
Meanwhile, domestic consumer prices rose 7.61 per cent in October, higher than expectations of 7.3 per cent, primarily on higher food inflation, Goenka said adding that "higher than expected inflation print could dampen sentiment in the bond markets".
The dollar index was up 0.02 per cent to 92.98 against a basket of six currencies.
On the domestic equity market front, traded on a bearish note on Friday, amid weak global equities. SGX Nifty on the Singapore Exchange was falling by 50 points, indicating negative trend in domestic grounds today. Sensex traded 60 points lower at 43,323 and Nifty fell by 23 points to 12,666.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,514.12 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,239.43 crore in the Indian equity market on 12 November, provisional data showed.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.45 per cent to USD 42.90 per barrel. Oil price fell pulled down by rising coronavirus cases across the globe which is impacting global economy and as US crude stock rose.
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