Rupee opens 3 paise up at 73.30 against dollar

NEW DELHI: The rupee on Thursday opened 3 paise higher at 73.30 against the US dollar tracking gains in the domestic equity market.

The local currency on Wednesday strengthened 13 paise after the dollar retraced against its major crosses.

Earlier in the week, the greenback rose against its major crosses after US President Trump called off negotiations with Democratic lawmakers on coronavirus relief legislation until after the election.


Brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services expects volatility to drop ahead of the important RBI policy statement that will be released on Friday.

The RBI is expected to hold rates unchanged and maintain a dovish stance but importantly the central bank’s stance on inflation will be important to watch and that could provide a trigger to the currency.

“For today, we expect USDINR (Spot) to quote in the range of 73.20 and 73.80,” Motilal Oswal said.

The dollar on Thursday weakened against its major crosses after a White house physician said that the US President has had no Covid-19 symptoms for the past 24 hours.

At the same time, Fed minutes released last night showed US Federal Reserve policymakers were split over how to apply a new strategy for monetary policy at their September meeting, and, amid growing doubts about the path of the economy, offered no clear sense of their next steps to offset the coronavirus recession. Fed policymaker comments have revealed a broad divide on views of where the economy is headed.

Today, volatility for the dollar could be confined to a narrow range following lack of cues on the economic calendar.