Rupee jumps 13ps to 83.42/$

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 13paise to settle at 83.42 against the US dollar on Tuesday, buoyed by fresh inflow of foreign capital and a firm trend in domestic equity markets, wherein benchmark indices scaled new peaks. Forex traders said reports of dollar selling by public sector banks supported the Indian currency. However, higher crude oil prices capped the gains in the local unit. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.52 and hit the intraday high of 83.39 against the greenback during the session. It finally settled at 83.42 against the dollar, registering a gain of 13 paise from its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had settled 1 paisa lower at 83.55 against the US dollar. Forex markets were closed on Monday on account of Bakri Id. Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said the rupee gained as domestic markets hit new all-time highs and amid fresh foreign fund inflows. “Reports of selling of dollars by state-run banks also supported the rupee. However, a positive tone in the US dollar and surge in crude oil prices capped sharp gains,” he said, adding, “USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs83.10 to Rs83.70.” Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 105.06, higher by 0.12 per cent.

According to analysts, the US dollar gained after hawkish comments by officials of the US Federal Reserve, while market participants were awaiting further cues from retail sales and industrial production data from the US. In the domestic markets, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Friday, as they purchased shares worth Rs2,175.86 crore, according to exchange data.