The rupee closed lower at 59.16 against the dollar on the back of strong dollar demand from oil importers and as investors remained cautious ahead of the RBI’s bi-monthly monetary policy review.
The Indian unit had closed at 59.04 against the American currency on Friday.
Economists and analysts widely expect the RBI to hold the key rates constant as inflation remains high and the government’s path to control the fiscal deficit is still to become clear.
More than the action of the policy itself, investors will look for some signals from the RBI on the future stance the central bank might take or some relaxation in stiff rules on gold imports.
Intraday, the rupee moved in 59.05 to 59.28 range.