Rupee gains 62 paise to close at 80.78 against USD

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated by 62 paise to close at 80.78 against the US dollar on Friday, as moderating US inflation data coupled with a fall in the dollar index boosted investor sentiments.

Forex traders said positive domestic equities and sustained foreign fund inflows also supported the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic currency opened at 80.76 and touched an intra-day high of 80.58 and a low of 80.99 against the greenback.

The local unit finally settled at 80.78, registering a rise of 62 paise over its previous close of 81.40. The rupee has now appreciated for five straight sessions.

“The Indian rupee appreciated on weak US Dollar and positive domestic markets. Sustained FII inflows also supported Rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

However, a surge in crude oil prices capped sharp gains.

US inflation and core inflation declined to 7.7 percent and 6.3 percent in October from 8.2 percent and 6.6 percent in September, respectively, amid hopes that inflation may have peaked and Fed will not raise rates aggressively, Choudhary added.

“We expect Rupee to trade with a positive bias on rise in risk appetite in global markets and weakness in the greenback,” Choudhary said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.82 per cent to 107.31.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures surged 2.56 percent to USD 96.07 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 1,181.34 points or 1.95 percent to end at 61,795.04, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 321.50 points or 1.78 percent to 18,349.70.

Stepping up their purchase of Indian equities, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 3,958.23 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

“Rupee traded strong as the dollar witnessed the single day highest fall since 2009… Weak CPI in the US gave the currency market a positive boost,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities.