Rupee settles flat at 75.65 against US dollar

The rupee pared initial gains and settled on a flat note at 75.65 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday as concerns about rising COVID-19 cases weighed on investor sentiment.

Forex traders said risk appetite has waned amid spike in fresh coronavirus infections globally.

The rupee opened on a strong note at the interbank forex market at 75.51 against the US dollar, but pared the initial gains and settled at 75.65 against the US dollar, unchanged against its previous close.

During the four-hour trading session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 75.43 and a low of 75.65 against the US dollar.

"Despite rising coronavirus concerns, the global equity market is trading higher reacting to new stimulus packages and unconventional easing. But, there is a lot of uncertainty over the spike in COVID-19 cases," said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

Gupta further said that "the market is trying to figure out the impact of this on consumer activity in coming months, and it is not clear now because we don't know how bad this spike is going to get".

The number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed 96.12 lakh and the death toll has topped 4.89 lakh.

Meanwhile, in India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 15,301 and the number of the number of infections rose to 4,90,401, according to the health ministry.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.93 per cent to USD 41.43 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell by 0.09 per cent to 97.34.