MUMBAI: The Indian rupee closed nearly flat on Wednesday as expectations that the Reserve Bank of India would likely intervene to cap a sharp weakness supported the local currency despite a decline in its Asian peers.

The rupee closed at 83.5175, after ending at 83.5075 in the previous session. The currency hovered in a narrow band between 83.4950 and 83.5175 in Wednesday’s session.

Dollar demand from local corporates and oil companies and have maintained pressure on the rupee over the last few sessions, traders said.

While offers to sell dollars from state-run banks often prompt speculation of an RBI intervention, some traders stated that the rupee has also been hemmed in by the expectation that the central bank will sell dollars to prevent weakness in the rupee.

That has dulled speculative appetite to push the rupee lower, keeping the currency in a tight band despite strong local dollar demand, a foreign exchange trader at a foreign bank said.