Rupee pares early gains to settle marginally up at 70.83 vs US dollar

The rupee pared most of its early gains and settled marginally up at 70.83 against the US currency on Thursday amid uncertainty over the delay in the deadline for imposition of higher US tariffs on Chinese goods.

A spike in crude oil prices and fears of further rise in retail inflation also capped the rupee gains. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee had opened higher at 70.67 against the US dollar and later touched a high of 70.56 largely on the back of losses in the US dollar following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged.

The rupee finally settled for the day at 70.83, higher by just 2 paise against the dollar. The local unit had closed at 70.85 against the US dollar on Wednesday.