RBI likely selling dollars to support rupee near record low, traders say

Mumbai: The Indian central bank was likely selling dollars to support the rupee on Thursday as the local currency teetered near its all-time low, four traders told Reuters.

The rupee was slightly weaker on the day at 84.4175 as of 09:10 a.m. IST, compared with its close of 84.4150 on Tuesday.

The rupee had declined to its all-time low of 84.42 in the previous session.

State-run banks were spotted offering dollars near the 84.41-84.42 levels, most likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the traders said.

The RBI will likely "try and hold 84.42-84.43 levels for the day, as there is a lot of buying pressure right from the start (of the session)," a trader with a private bank said.

The rupee's Asian peers were mostly rangebound on the day while the dollar index was at 106.5 after rising 0.4 per cent on Wednesday.

Benchmark Indian equity indexes, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were down about 0.5 per cent each in early trading.