Rupee rises seven paise to settle at 82.83 against U.S. dollar

On March 5, the Rupee settled flat at 82.90 against the U.S. dollar.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Rupee appreciated seven paise to settle at 82.83 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on March 6, buoyed by a weak American currency against major rivals overseas and a rally in domestic equities.

However, surging crude oil prices in international markets put pressure on the local currency and restricted the rise, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.90 and oscillated between the peak of 82.82 and the lowest level of 82.91 against the greenback during intra-day deals. The currency finally settled at 82.83 (provisional), registering a gain of seven paise from its previous close. On Tuesday, the Rupee settled flat at 82.90 against the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, declined by 0.19% to 103.55.

Analysts attributed the downward movement in the dollar index to the services PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) data in the U.S., which showed the sector’s growth in February fell short of expectations.

Market participants were also awaiting cues from non-farm payroll data in the U.S. and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony at the U.S. Congress about the Central bank’s monetary policy moves. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.77% to $82.67 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex surged 408.86 points or 0.55% to settle at its new lifetime peak of 74,085.99. The Nifty soared 117.75 points or 0.53% to close at the highest level of 22,474.05.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they bought shares worth ₹574.28 crore, according to exchange data.