Mumbai, March 12 The rupee recovered from record low levels and closed with a loss of 16 paise at 92.17 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, as global crude oil prices remained on an upward trend amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
A stronger US dollar and volatility in the domestic equity markets further weighed on the rupee, which was already under pressure due to heavy foreign fund outflows, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 92.25 but continued to decline, touching its record intra-day low against the dollar at 92.36. However, it partially recovered and eventually closed at 92.17 (provisional), down 16 paise from its previous close.
The rupee previously recorded its lowest intra-day low of 92.35 against the dollar on March 9.
"The rupee declined, hitting a record low of 92.36 due to weak domestic markets and rising crude oil prices. A positive US dollar index and FII outflows also put pressure on the rupee. However, the rupee recovered due to supposed intervention by the RBI," Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias due to rising crude oil prices and risk aversion in global markets amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as it entered its 13th day. Continued FII outflows may further pressure the rupee," he added.
According to Choudhary, the USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in the range of Rs 91.70 to Rs 92.40.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the US dollar against a basket of six currencies, was trading up 0.15 per cent at 99.38.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading up by 5.70 per cent at USD 97.22 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex plunged 829.29 points or 1.08 per cent to close at 76,034.42, while the Nifty fell 227.70 points or 0.95 per cent to 23,639.15.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 6,267.31 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
