Re slips 3ps, closes at 83.31/1$

Mumbai: The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled lower by 3 paise at 83.31 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a strong American currency overseas. Forex traders said a muted trend in domestic equities also weighed on the local unit while a correction in oil prices provided support to the currency. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.31 and touched a low of 83.34 against the greenback. It finally settled at 83.31 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a fall of 3 paise from its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee recovered from its all-time low to settle 10 paise higher at 83.28 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.18 per cent higher at 103.75.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.79 per cent to $81.80 per barrel. The US dollar recovered after the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) released on Tuesday showed that the monetary policy stance was slightly hawkish.