Rupee Climbs 12ps To 86.81/$

Mumbai: The rupee extended its recovery and settled 12paise higher at 86.81 against the US dollar on Friday amid easing American currency. However, higher crude oil prices and incessant selling of domestic equities by foreign institutional investors capped a sharp gain in the local unit, forex traders said. Also, they said, the aggressive dollar chase was halted after the US government announced the implementation of reciprocal tariffs on April 1, giving its trading partners some relief. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 86.86 and touched the high of 86.79 against the greenback during intraday. It also touched the low of 86.90 before ending the session at 86.81 against the dollar, logging a gain of 12paise from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee settled almost flat with a marginal gain of 2paise at 86.93 against the US dollar. The unit had closed 16paise lower on Wednesday, a day after surging 66paise, witnessing the highest single-day rise in nearly two years. Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said the rupee gained on the weak US dollar index. He further said that the US dollar declined as President Donald Trump delayed the implementation of reciprocal tariffs to April 1 which calmed market nerves. “Persistent outflows by FIIs may pressurise the rupee further.