Rupee falls 4 paise to close at ₹88.79 against US dollar

The rupee traded with a slight negative bias and hovered near its all-time low levels before settling for the day at ₹88.79 against the US dollar, lower by 4 paise on Thursday, as strong greenback demand and ongoing trade tensions between India and the US weighed on investor sentiments.

Forex traders said the USD/INR pair is trading in a tight range as absence of economic data from the US amid the government shutdown may also lead to consolidation.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at ₹88.76 against the greenback and fell to an intraday low of ₹88.79 and a high of ₹88.74. It finally closed the day at ₹88.79 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a decline of 4 paise over its previous close.

On September 30, the rupee had fallen to an all-time low of 88.80 against the US dollar.

The rupee is likely to trade with a slight positive bias on positive domestic markets and rising odds of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve amid the US government shutdown.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01% higher at 98.92. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.20% at USD 66.12 per barrel in futures trading.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex jumped 398.44 points to settle at 82,172.10, while the Nifty climbed 135.65 points to 25,181.80.

Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors on Wednesday bought equities worth ₹81.21 crore, according to exchange data.