The rupee ended at 84.0775 to the U.S. dollar against 84.0750 at the previous close. The currency moved in a three-paise range, and briefly hit a lifetime low of 84.09 per dollar.
This is the ninth consecutive session in which the currency has closed little changed amid the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) tight grip.
“Importers bought the dip (on the dollar), but they (RBI) were definitely there to prevent any major fall in the rupee, a trend which will persist till election jitters are behind us,” a dealer with a state-run bank said.
Focus for investors remains on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election due on Nov. 5.
Rising odds of former President Donald Trump winning have pushed the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields higher in recent days. Indian shares ended lower. Foreign investors have taken out more than $10 billion from Indian equities so far this month. The rupee is “at a tipping point”, with the U.S. election likely to play a pivotal role in dictating the direction of capital flows and the currency’s trajectory, Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based research firm, said.
In the near term, 84.20 remains a critical support level for the rupee, she said.
Investors await the U.S. September core PCE data and advanced third-quarter GDP on Thursday, followed by the October jobs data on Friday.
“We suspect a strong growth print can prevent the macro story from turning dollar-negative before payrolls on Friday, and allow Trump hedges and rising implied volatility to feed into a stronger dollar,” ING Bank said in a note.
