Rupee Falls 18 Paise To 81.85 Even As Dollar Steadies Ahead Of Fed Minutes

The rupee weakened on Wednesday even as the dollar remained tentative after giving up its significant gains overnight ahead of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting scheduled to be released later in the day.

After opening weaker at 81.8513 per dollar, the domestic currency remained steady to last trade at 81.8075, compared to its previous close of 81.67 on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.

"With the Fed minutes to be released tonight the market is skeptical of the direction for the USDINR pair and moved within a tight range during the entire day," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors.

Investors will parse the minutes from the Fed's meeting on November 1-2 to be released later on Wednesday to see how united policymakers were around a higher peak for interest rates than previously signalled in their fight against inflation.

Some investors believe that the Fed may decide to scale back the amount of its rate increases as early as next month's meeting in response to lower-than-expected inflation numbers.