Ukraine crisis not a worry, rupee to be range bound: Arvind Mayaram

Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has said the ongoing political crisis in Ukraine will not affect the Indian rupee, which will continue to remain range bound.

The rupee had tumbled 29 paise, its biggest loss in two weeks, to close at 62.04 against the dollar on Monday, hit by global risk aversion as the Russia-Ukraine conflict threatened to snowball into a full-fledged war.

"I don't think we should worry about such things (geopolitical tension in Ukraine). The Indian economy is very stable...the rupee will remain range bound," Mayaram said on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a conference.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the rupee resumed lower at 62.12 a dollar from previous close of 62.04 and touched a low of 62.15 on initial hesitancy in local shares. The rupee later bounced back to a high of 61.82 before closing at 61.85, a rise of 19 paise or 0.31 per cent.

Safe-haven driven fresh dollar demand from importers amid escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine weighed on emerging market currencies, including India's rupee.

The currency had touched a historic low of 68.85 against the dollar in August last year.