Mumbai, Jun 18 (PTI) The rupee appreciated 12 paise to settle at 83.43 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 also supported the local 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 83.43 against the dollar, registering a gain of 12 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 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 that “USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.10 to Rs 83.70.” 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.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.33 per cent to USD 83.97 per barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 308.37 points, or 0.40 per cent, to close at a new peak of 77,301.14 points. The broader NSE Nifty settled 92.30 points, or 0.39 per cent, higher to close at an all-time high of 23,557.90 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday, as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,569.40 crore, according to exchange data.
Analysts attributed the strong investor sentiment to the firm domestic macroeconomic outlook.
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday raised India’s growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.2 per cent, from 7 per cent projected in March, citing a recovery in consumer spending and increased investment.
Meanwhile, India’s forex reserves jumped USD 4.307 billion to a new all-time high of USD 655.817 billion for the week ended June 7, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.
The kitty had jumped by USD 4.837 billion to USD 651.51 billion in the previous reporting week. PTI HVA BAL BAL
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