Mumbai, Feb 24 (PTI) The rupee traded in a narrow range on Tuesday and settled 6 paise lower at 90.95 (provisional) against the US dollar amid a firm greenback and higher crude oil prices.

A sharp fall in domestic equity markets and uncertainties over the India-US trade deal further pressured the local unit, while foreign fund inflows lent some support, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.91 and traded in a narrow range of 90.91-90.97 due to possible intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It ended the session at 90.95 (provisional), down 6 paise from its previous close.

The rupee gained 5 paise to settle at 90.89 against the US dollar on Monday.

"The rupee declined on weak domestic markets and a surge in crude oil prices, uncertainty over tariffs after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose higher duties on countries not honouring the trade deal despite the Supreme Court ruling," Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.

However, the RBI may have sold dollars to prevent the rupee from falling below the psychological barrier of 91 levels, he said, adding that the rupee spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 90.75 to Rs 91.20 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.16 per cent higher at 97.86.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.27 per cent to USD 71.68 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tumbled 1,068.74 points to settle at 82,225.92, while Nifty fell 288.35 points to 25,424.65.

On Monday, foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 3,483.70 crore, according to exchange data. PTI TRB HVA

Foreign exchange intervention: central bank actions influence currency stability amid trade-policy uncertainty and oil-driven external pressures. The rupee modestly weakened amid a stronger dollar, higher global oil prices, and weak domestic equities, with reports of possible Reserve Bank intervention selling foreign currency to prevent the exchange rate breaching a psychologically sensitive level; trade-policy uncertainty and reference to a Supreme Court ruling are noted as additional volatility drivers.