The Indian rupee closed flat against the US dollar on Thursday amid a fall in the prices of Brent crude and ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting.
The local currency closed flat at Rs 83.70; it had opened at Rs 83.71 against the greenback, according to Bloomberg. It had closed at a record closing low for the second consecutive session at Rs 83.71 on Wednesday.
The US Dollar Index was at 104.17 and Brent crude prices were at $79.52 per barrel.
The Brent crude had fallen 0.82% to $81.04 per barrel earlier in the day. Government data showed that US crude inventories fell to the lowest level since February. The oil's recent slump paralleled concerns about lower demand in China, the world's largest crude importer, according to Bloomberg.
The US dollar index was also down 0.13% to 104.25 intially, amid concerns in the US of a disappointing start to earnings of artificial intelligence stocks.
The rupee made new closing and intraday lows on Wednesday as the dollar was bid due to carry unwind trades before the crucial meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee and Bank of Japan on July 30 and 31, according to Anil Bhansali, executive director of Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Bhansali expects the rupee to trade in the range of Rs 83.65–83.85, with exporters on the watchful side for hedging. Importers are advised to buy dollar on dips or trigger stop loss of Rs 83.70.
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