Rupee falls 3 paise to close at 81.82 against U.S. dollar

During the day, the rupee witnessed a high of 81.72 and a low of 81.85 against the greenback.
| Photo Credit: SUDERSHAN V

The rupee pared all its initial gains to settle lower by 3 paise at 81.82 (provisional) against the U.S. currency on Friday amid a strong greenback overseas.

However, the strong sentiment in the domestic equities market restricted the depreciating bias in the rupee, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.77 against the dollar and finally closed at 81.82 (provisional), down 3 paise from its previous close.

During the day, the rupee witnessed a high of 81.72 and a low of 81.85 against the greenback.

On Thursday, the rupee closed at 81.79 against the U.S. currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.51 per cent to 102.02.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.45 per cent to $78.72 per barrel.

The rupee depreciated on a strong U.S. Dollar and a recovery in crude oil prices. However, positive domestic equities and FII inflows cushioned the downside, Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas said.

The U.S. Dollar strengthened on strong earnings by IT companies and as US inflation data released on Thursday were elevated, raising expectations of a hawkish Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight positive bias on the rise in risk appetite in global markets and fresh inflows from foreign investors. However, a strong U.S. Dollar may prevent a sharp upside in the rupee,” Mr. Choudhary said.

Traders may remain cautious ahead of India’s fiscal deficit and core PCE deflator from the U.S., which is the preferred gauge of inflation used by the U.S. Federal Reserve, Choudhary said, adding that “We expect USD/INR spot to trade in between 81.30 to 82.20 in the near-term”.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 463.06 points or 0.76 per cent higher at 61,112.44 points. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 149.95 points or 0.84 per cent to 18,065.00 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Thursday as they purchased shares worth ₹1,652.95 crore, according to exchange data.