Rupee opens 4 paise down on rising dollar index amid hawkish Fed outlook

The local currency opened 88.6288 against the US dollar, as compared to 88.5875 against the greenback at previous close.

Indian rupee opened 4 paise down on November 20 on rising dollar index after the fading expectations of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve next month.

The local currency opened 88.6288 against the US dollar, as compared to 88.5875 against the greenback at previous close.

Meanwhile, dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose to 100.277 in the morning from the previous close of 100.228.

"The dollar index moved to higher this morning after a hawkish FED minutes diminishing the chance of a rate cut in December," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

Many US Federal Reserve officials were leaning against another rate cut in December, meeting minutes showed Wednesday, a move sure to infuriate President Donald Trump as he pushes for lower rates.

The minutes come amid heightened uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook, with policymakers recognizing risks to the jobs market and concerns that inflation could be more persistent than expected -- even after the impact from Trump's tariffs fade.

"Many participants suggested that, under their economic outlooks, it would likely be appropriate to keep the target range unchanged for the rest of the year," said the minutes of the October 28-29 gathering.

At the meeting, Fed officials voted to make a second straight interest rate cut this year, bringing the benchmark lending rate to a range between 3.75-4.0 percent.

But Fed Chair Jerome Powell said shortly after unveiling the decision last month that a further reduction in December was "not a foregone conclusion."