Mumbai, Apr 22 (PTI) The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled lower by 4 paise at 85.19 against the US dollar on Tuesday, as the support from positive domestic equities was negated by dollar short-covering by investors.

Forex traders said foreign fund inflows supported the domestic unit. However, a recovery in crude oil prices dented investor sentiment.

Moreover, concerns persisted over economic headwinds from tariffs and US monetary policy that could dampen demand.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.11 and moved between the intra-day high of 85.07 and the low of 85.23 against the greenback.

The unit ended the session at 85.19, registering a loss of 4 paise over its previous closing level on Tuesday, after witnessing a gaining streak for five straight sessions.

On Monday, the rupee appreciated 23 paise to settle at 85.15 against the US dollar.

In the last five trading sessions, the Indian currency had added 155 paise since its April 9 closing mark of 86.68 against the greenback.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a positive bias on rise in risk appetite in global markets and fresh FII inflows. Weakness in the US dollar and overall weakness in crude oil prices may further favour the rupee. However, importer buying of dollars may cap sharp gains. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 84.80 to 85.30,” Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.08 per cent at 98.35.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.52 per cent to USD 67.27 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 187.09 points, or 0.24 per cent, to settle at 79,595.59, while the Nifty rose 41.70 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 24,167.25.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,290.43 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

“There was good buying in equities by FPIs — who were dollar sellers — which kept rupee in a range of 85.06-85.21 a rare non-volatile move for the rupee… The rupee is expected to remain in the range of 85.00-85.50 tomorrow (Wednesday) as we see dollar index relatively oversold, which could take dollar higher and rupee lower in the next session,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said. PTI DRR TRB