Mumbai, Jul 28 (PTI) The rupee stayed on an upward track for the third straight session and ended 17 paise higher at 95.82 against the US dollar on Tuesday, supported by lower crude oil prices amid signals of easing West Asia crisis.
According to forex traders, the sustained outflow of foreign capital amid selling pressure in domestic equity markets, along with an elevated dollar index ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision, capped gains for the local currency.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.75 and touched the intraday high of 95.63 before ending the session at 95.82 against the greenback, up 17 paise from its previous closing level.
On Monday, the rupee appreciated sharply by 54 paise to close at 95.99 against the US dollar, after rising 20 paise in the preceding session on Friday.
“The Indian rupee appreciated for the third consecutive session, supported by a decline in imported commodity prices and a steady supply of dollars from banks.
“Despite mixed cues from regional Asian peers, the domestic currency found firm backing as banks stepped in to meet opportunistic bargain buying from importers,” said Dilip Parmar – Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
From a technical standpoint, the spot USDINR pair found immediate support in the 95.60-95.40 range, while 96.15 continues to pose a key overhead hurdle, Parmar added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.06 per cent lower at 101.47.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.90 per cent lower at USD 86.68 per barrel in futures trade.
Analysts said oil prices crashed as the US and Iran refrained from attacking each other’s targets for the third consecutive day and mediators progressed in getting both sides back to negotiations.
US President Donald Trump said Iran had asked for more discussions, reaching out directly “because we’ve been hitting them very hard.” Iran has, however, said there are no direct talks underway.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 69.86 points, or 0.09 per cent, to settle at 76,765.92, while the Nifty fell 10.60 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 23,985.35.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 755.33 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data. PTI HVA DRR
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