Mumbai, August 7: The rupee Friday ended almost flat at 74.93 (provisional) against the US dollar due to a caution prevailing in the forex market in view of mounting coronavirus cases and US-China trade tension.

Starting off on a tepid note, the rupee fell to a low of 75.04, but recovered slightly thereafter and moved in a narrow band through the session. It finally settled at 74.93, gaining one paisa over its previous close.

On Thursday too, the rupee had closed steady after the Reserve Bank of India maintained a status quo in its policy rates.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which gauges the value of the greenback against a basket of key global currencies, rose 0.32 per cent to 93.08.

Analysts said forex market sentiment was mainly guided by growing US-China trade tension and mounting coronavirus cases in the country.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in India has crossed 20 lakh-mark and the death toll climbed past 41,000, official data showed.

In fresh concerns for global trade outlook, the US is considering a proposal to crackdown on Chinese companies that are listed on American bourses and do not follow US audit requirements, according to a report.

Foreign investors infused Rs 637.43 crore on a net basis into Indian equities on Thursday, exchange data showed.

Global crude oil benchmark Brent was trading lower by 0.42 per cent at US dollar 44.90 a barrel.

On the domestic equities front, the BSE Sensex was down 41.56 points or 0.11 per cent at 37,983.89; while the NSE Nifty traded 2.95 points or 0.26 per cent lower at 11,197.20.