Rupee almost flat ahead of RBI’s rate decision

Indian rupee

The rupee, which fell to a new low a day earlier, opened a paise up on October 1 ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy decision. The rupee opened at 88.77 against the US dollar after ending the previous session at 88.78.

On September 30, the currency hit a record low of 88.8850 against the US dollar amid persistent selling by foreign investors.

Traders were cautious ahead of RBI’s monetary policy decision, experts said. MPC is likely to maintain status quo on interest rates, a Moneycontrol poll of 15 economists, bank treasury heads and fund managers has found.

The rate-setting panel is likely to draw comfort from the higher growth in the first quarter while taking time to assess the data on the goods and services tax (GST) reforms, the majority of experts said.

A few, however, expect the central bank to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) amid lower inflation. Since February, the MPC has reduced the repo rate by 100 bps to aid