Rupee settles 4 paise higher at 90.91 against US dollar

Mumbai, Feb 25 (PTI) The rupee stayed range-bound and settled with a gain of 4 paise at 90.91 against the US dollar on Wednesday on the back of foreign fund inflow and a weak greenback.

The currency, however, faced pressure due to higher crude oil prices and trade-related uncertainties, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.94 against the dollar and traded in a narrow range of 90.96-90.88, before settling at 90.91 against the greenback, registering a gain of 4 paisa from its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee settled 6 paise lower at 90.95 against the US dollar.

Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said that the rupee is expected to trade with a negative bias amid geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, as well as the ongoing trade tariff uncertainty.

"Negotiations between the US and Iran are likely to take place on Thursday, and markets now expect that the US may opt for a limited attack on Iran," he said.

According to Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, market participants remained cautious amid fresh uncertainty around the US trade framework.

"After the US court dismissed parts of Trump's tariff structure, renewed statements from Trump regarding potential consequences for countries revisiting trade terms have kept currency markets on edge," Trivedi said, adding, "For now, rupee remains range-bound with support seen near 91.25 and resistance around 90.50, awaiting clearer direction from global trade developments and dollar index movement." Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent down at 97.79.

"A soft dollar, along with RBI intervention, may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 90.70 to Rs 91.20," Choudhary said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.06 per cent to USD 70.76 per barrel in futures trade.

The domestic equity markets rebounded on Wednesday with the Sensex climbing 50.15 points to settle at 82,276.07, while the Nifty was up 57.85 points to 25,482.50.

On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 2,991.64 crore, according to exchange data. PTI TRB HVA