Rupee ends flat at 59.33 Vs USD ahead of ECB policy decision

In lacklustre trade, the rupee closed flat at 59.33 against the US dollar on alternate bouts of buying and selling as investors await a European Central Bank policy decision later today.
The rupee commenced better at 59.27 a dollar from last close of 59.33 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market. It was later trapped in a narrow range of 59.24 and 59.36, before settling at overnight closing level of 59.33.
The dollar index was down 0.10 per cent against a basket of six major global currencies.
Forex traders said the ECB is expected to tackle concerns of deflation by cutting its benchmark interest rates into negative territory for the first time.

The ECB is expected to cut its refinancing rate by 15 bps to 0.10 per cent and deposit rate by 10 bps to -0.10 per cent, according to Edelweiss Alternative Research.
Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group CEO said, "Rupee traded range bound to slightly strong in futures. FIIs buying in the local equities helped the indices to trade positively. Tussle between the dollar demand from importers and strong local equities forced the rupee to trade in a tight range."
Trading range for the spot rupee is expected to be within 59.00 to 59.80, he added.
Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex today shot up by 213.68 points, or 0.86 per cent, while FIIs bought shares worth Rs 192.56 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.