Rupee settles flat at 82.70 against U.S. dollar

The rupee rate in the last week.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The rupee ended on a flat note at 82.70 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Friday as surging crude oil prices dented the investor sentiment.

The domestic currency, however, found support from positive sentiment in equity markets on the back of robust macroeconomic data.

According to a survey released on Friday, manufacturing activities in India gained momentum in August as new orders and output increased at the quickest rates in nearly three years.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 58.6 in August from 57.7 in July.

The latest government data released on Thursday showed India recorded GDP growth of 7.8% during the April-June period of 2023-24, the highest in the past four quarters, retaining its position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.58 and touched the lowest level of 82.76 during intra-day trade.

The Indian currency finally settled flat at Thursday’s closing level of 82.70 (provisional) against the greenback.

The American currency stayed firm tracking cues from positive GDP numbers in the U.S. while forex traders awaited employment and manufacturing growth numbers.

Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said: “We expect rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on rising U.S. dollar and surge in crude oil prices. However, rise in risk appetite in global markets may support rupee at lower levels. Traders may remain cautious ahead of U.S. non-farm payroll report and ISM manufacturing PMI data. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of ₹82.30 to ₹83.20.” Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.02% to 103.60.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, climbed 1.08% to $87.77 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex closed 555.75 points or 0.86% higher at 65,387.16 points while the broader Nifty jumped by 181.50 points or 0.94% to end at 19,435.30 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth ₹2,973.10 crore, according to exchange data.