"Having said that, it was a nothing kind of a session. It could simply be that after seeing near 82.05 last week, 82.40 looked good for dollar sellers." The rupee reached a high of 82.07 last Thursday on the back of a dovish 25-basis-point interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Some analysts reckon that those levels were attractive from the importers' point of view. "Until March 31, we can expect some flows and rupee to appreciate towards 82.20-82.00 levels," Amit Pabari, managing director at CR Forex, said. "Every dip (on USD/INR pair) towards 82-82.20 should be grabbed by the importers, whereas exporters should go slow in their hedging." The news flow related to the U.S. and Europe banking sectors is currently the main focus point for investors. In a positive development, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said on Monday that First Citizens BancShares Inc would acquire all of Silicon Valley Bank's deposits and loans from the regulator. Meanwhile, shares of European lender Deutsche Bank rose following Friday's selloff. Futures pointed to a rise in U.S. equities at open, while Indian shares ended higher.
(Reporting by Nimesh Vora; editing by Eileen Soreng)