The rupee on Tuesday fell 7 paise to close at 86.38 against the US dollar, weighed down by persistent uncertainty over the India-US trade deal ahead of the August 1 deadline and continued foreign fund outflows.At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic currency opened at 86.26, touched an intra-day high of 86.22 and a low of 86.41, before settling at 86.38, down from the previous close of 86.31. This marked the rupee’s fifth straight session of decline since July 16, when it had closed at 85.92.Forex traders said while the softening of crude oil prices and a weaker dollar supported the rupee at lower levels, negative domestic equity trends and foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows capped gains.“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on trade deal talks. However, weakness in the American currency and softening of crude oil prices may support the rupee at lower levels,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan.Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, said, “The rupee depreciated for the fifth consecutive day, driven by risk-averse market sentiment and consistent dollar demand.” He added, “Regional currencies remain range-bound as the dollar consolidates amid geopolitical uncertainties. Near-term, spot USD-INR has support at 85.95 and resistance at 86.70.”An official said the US team will visit India in August for the next round of negotiations on the proposed bilateral trade agreement. The fifth round of talks concluded last week in Washington.The August 1 deadline marks the end of the suspension of Trump-era tariffs on several countries, including India, where a 26% tariff on exports could come into effect if no interim deal is reached.“Traders may remain cautious ahead of PMI and durable goods orders data from the US this week,” Choudhary added, noting the USD-INR spot price is expected to trade between 86.10 and 86.65.The dollar index fell 0.03% to 97.82, while Brent crude declined 0.94% to $68.56 per barrel in futures trade.In domestic markets, the Sensex slipped 13.53 points to 82,186.81, and the Nifty dropped 29.80 points to 25,060.90.FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 3,548.92 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.
