MUMBAI: The Indian rupee ended little changed on Tuesday after hovering in a tight band through the session as dollar sales by exporters helped offset weakness in the currency’s Asian peers.

The rupee closed at 83.3850 against the US dollar, barely changed from its close at 83.40 in the previous session.

The local unit hovered between 83.3450 and 83.3950 during the day’s session.

Asian currencies declined, with the Malaysian ringgit down 0.5% and leading losses. The dollar index was steady near 105 after rising over 0.4% on Monday, boosted by stronger-than-expected economic data.

The rupee saw “sideways price action” through much of the session amid relatively muted trading volumes, a foreign exchange trader at a foreign bank said.

The Reserve Bank of India is likely to keep offering dollars around 83.45 to prevent the rupee from hitting fresh all-time lows, FX advisory firm IFA Global said in a note. The rupee had hit a record low of 83.45 last week.

Meanwhile, open interest on dollar-rupee April month futures fell after brokers informed their clients of an RBI notification that would require that positions in rupee contracts can only be taken against contracted exposures.