Rupee closer to replacing dollar, 18 nations to trade in INR

Chennai: The rupee is closer to replacing the dollar as 18 nations agree to trade in INR, Indian rupee to remain in 82-83 per dollar.

The Indian rupee is expected to remain range-bound and trade in the band of Rs 82-83 against a US dollar in the next fortnight, the Bank of Baroda said in a report.

According to the report, the Indian rupee appreciated by 0.2 per cent in March (up to March 14) after depreciating by 0.9 per cent in February.

Compared to other currencies, the Indian rupee has remained an underperformer. In fact, when compared with a median appreciation of 1 per cent in the sample of 18 currencies, the rupee was way behind other currencies in the pack, the report said.

Apart from dollar weakness, foreign portfolio investments (FPI) inflow, lower trade deficit, higher forex reserves with the Reserve Bank of India are expected to support Indian rupee.

“We expect a range of 82-83/$ in the next fortnight,” the report by Jahnavi Prabhakar, Economist at Bank of Baroda said.