Inflows helped the rupee climb to an intraday high of 83.30 but "at lower levels (on USD/INR), dollar demand continues to emerge," Dilip Parmar, a foreign exchange research analyst at HDFC Securities, said.
The Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank will begin its bi-monthly review meeting on Wednesday and announce the decision on Friday. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at its all-time low level of 83.41 against the greenback, registering a fall of 3 paise over its previous close.
While the dollar index fell 3% in November amid a slump in U.S. yields, the rupee stayed on the sidelines and ended the month slightly weaker even as Asian currencies rallied.
The rupee closed at 83.3938/$1 a new record closing low. The domestic currency, which has depreciated by 0.8% against the US dollar on a closing basis so far in 2023, had closed at 83.3262/$1 on Wednesday.
"When the dollar index was at 107, we were near 83.30. Now the dollar index is at 102, we re still near 83.30," a foreign exchange trader at a private bank said.