Re gains for 5th day adds 3ps, settles at 83.11/$

Mumbai: Rising for the fifth straight session, the rupee appreciated 3paise to close at 83.11 against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking positive equity market and foreign fund inflows. Crude oil prices hovering around $77 per barrel and recent weakness in the US dollar also supported the domestic unit, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened strong at 83.07 and traded between the peak of 83.04 and the lowest level of 83.13 against the greenback during the session. It finally settled at 83.11 against the dollar, registering a gain of 3 paise from its previous close.

The domestic currency settled 1 paisa higher at 83.14 on Monday, a day after gaining 9 paise. Analysts said investors will keep a close watch on domestic inflation numbers as well as the data from the US to be released later this week. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.17 per cent higher at 102.10 on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.50 per cent to $77.26 per barrel. On the domestic equity market front, Sensex rose 30.99 points, or 0.04 per cent, to settle at 71,386.21 points. The Nifty advanced 31.85 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 21,544.85 points. Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 16.03 crore on Monday, a day after purchasing equities worth Rs 1,696.86 crore in the preceding session.