Rupee Nearly Flat At 82.76 Per Dollar Ahead Of Key Central Banks' Meetings

The rupee opened nearly flat on Tuesday as the Chinese yuan continued its decline and weighed on Asian currencies and as traders waited for the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting for direction.

Bloomberg showed the rupee was last trading at 82.7575 per dollar after opening at 82.7413, compared to Monday's close of 82.7750.

But PTI reported that the rupee appreciated 8 paise to 82.73 against the US dollar in early trade driven by easing crude oil prices and a positive trend in domestic equities.

The USD/INR pair is once more "trying to reassert" its upward momentum after a few relatively quiet sessions, a trader at a Mumbai-based bank told Reuters.

Another dealer predicted that the rupee would drop later in the day after opening almost flat, with the possibility of dollar outflows during the afternoon session, similar to the previous session. 

On Monday, the domestic currency witnessed a late selloff when it dropped from a low of 82.50 to near 82.80 in the last hour.

"The rupee fell yesterday on dollar demand from oil companies and after it breached the 82.50 levels where stop losses were placed," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors.

"The yuan and the Indonesian Rupiah were weaker among Asian currencies and thus will not allow the rupee to strengthen. Exporters may sell near 83.00 levels, keeping a close watch on the RBI, while importers may buy the dips if they get any to hedge their payables," he added.

The Chinese yuan's weakest fixing since 2008 reportedly darkened the outlook for most Asian currencies. The offshore Chinese yuan continued its nearly 1 per cent fall from the previous session.

That even as risk appetite was positive and the dollar retreated on Tuesday from a one-week high versus a basket of global peers as traders weighed the tone of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.

Even as a Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision loomed, the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars gained from one-week lows on a general uptick in market sentiment.

"It's certainly a risk-on day, and that's being reflected in currencies with the Aussie and the kiwi topping the leaderboard, but all within recent ranges," Rodrigo Catril, Currency Strategist at National Australia Bank, told Reuters.

"Our general sense is that the dollar probably has peaked, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's coming down," he added.