Rupee settles flat at 75.19 against US dollar

Mumbai:

The rupee settled on a flat note at 75.19 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday amid high volatility in the domestic equity market.

The rupee, which opened at 75.20 against the US dollar, closed at 75.19 against the US dollar, up by just 1 paisa over its previous close.

It had settled at 75.20 against the greenback on Friday.

During the four-hour trading session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 75.08 and a low of 75.21 against the US dollar.

Forex traders said the rupee traded in a range-bound manner tracking high volatility in domestic equities. Moreover, investors awaited cues from Consumer Price Index (CPI) data expected to be released later in the day.

While weak US currency supported the local unit, foreign fund outflows and concerns over rising COVID-19 cases weighed on investor sentiment, traders said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.03 per cent to 96.62.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 34.01 points higher at 36,628.34 and broader NSE Nifty was up 13.30 points to 10,781.35.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 1,031 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.25 per cent to USD 42.70 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed 1.29 crore and the death toll has topped 5.69 lakh.

In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 23,174 and the number of infections spiked to 8,78,254, according to the health ministry.