By laksh5382 
Rupee Traded in a tight range and closed at 83.96 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, up by just 1 paise. reserve Bank of India kept its key interest rate unchanged and changed its stance to ‘neutral’ which may lead to a cut in benchmark rates in the upcoming policies.
Forex traders said the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy action was in line with Street expectations. Besides, soft trend in domestic markets and positive US dollar weighed on investor sentiments.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 83.92 and finally closed at 83.96 (provisional) for the day, higher by 1 paise from its previous close of 83.97 against the dollar.
The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday kept the policy rate unchanged for the tenth time in a row, but changed its stance from ‘withdrawal’ to ‘neutral’, which may lead to further policy cuts.
The Monetary Policy Committee, comprising three RBI officials and an equal number of new external members, recommended maintaining the benchmark repurchase or repo rate – which controls the interest rate on home, auto, corporate and other loans – at five- Gave one vote. – 6.5 percent for the 10th consecutive policy meeting.
Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said the Indian rupee remained stable as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the repo rate and CRR unchanged at 6.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively, in line with Street expectations.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias due to selling pressure from FIIs and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. A stronger US dollar may put further pressure on the rupee.
“The dollar is trading at an 8-week high. However, an improvement in domestic markets and weak crude oil prices may provide support to the rupee at lower levels,” Choudhary said. He said traders are also looking at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). ) meeting minutes that will indicate the path of further rate cuts by the Fed.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.09 percent at 102.63 points.
International benchmark Brent crude rose 0.82 percent to $77.81 per barrel in futures trade.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 81,467.10 points, down 167.71 points, or 0.21 percent, while the Nifty closed at 24,981.95 points, down 31.20 points, or 0.12 percent.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they sold shares worth Rs 5,729.60 crore, according to exchange data.