Rupee slips 1 paisa to settle at 83.44 against US dollar

     Mumbai, Jun 19 (PTI) The rupee paired its initial gains and settled 1 paisa lower at 83.44 against the US dollar on Wednesday, in tandem with domestic equity markets that turned choppy at the fag-end of the session.
     Forex traders said the gaining momentum in the local unit was snapped by a firm American currency and higher level of crude oil prices in the overseas market.
     At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened strong at 83.39 and moved in the range of 83.34 and 83.48 against the greenback during the session. The local unit finally settled at 83.44 against the American currency, registering a loss of 1 paisa from previous closing level.
     On Tuesday, the rupee had settled 12 paise higher at 83.43 against the US dollar.
     "Weaker regional currencies and dollar demand from the importers dragged the rupee lower after a higher opening. The volumes were relatively higher at domestic bourses, while on the overseas front remained thin amid the US holiday.
     "There's not much out of the US today, except for some mortgage application data. Technically, spot USDINR has been oscillating between 83.60 to 83.30 and is expected to stay in the range this month," said Dilip Parmar, Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
     Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.08 per cent at 105.17.
     Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.40 per cent to USD 85.67 per barrel.
     Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said the rupee traded on a volatile note, showing strength at the opening but giving up gains as the dollar index found support near 104.80. "The rupee is anticipated to continue trading in a volatile range between 83.25-83.60."
     In the domestic equity markets, the 30-share BSE Sensex inched up 36.45 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 77,337.59 points. The broader NSE Nifty fell 41.90 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 23,516.00 points. Both the indices touched their fresh peak levels during intraday trade.
     Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Wednesday, as they purchased shares worth Rs 7,908.36 crore, according to exchange data.
     Analysts attributed the strong FII buying to the firm domestic macroeconomic outlook and a sharp fall in the US treasury yield.
     The government data released on Tuesday showed the net direct tax collection grew 21 per cent to over Rs 4.62 lakh crore so far this fiscal on higher advance tax payments by corporates, reflecting robust economic activity.
     Fitch Ratings on Tuesday raised India's growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.2 per cent, from 7 per cent projected in March, citing a recovery in consumer spending and increased investment.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)