Finance
The rupee rose 8 paise to close at 81.53 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, despite the US currency’s strength against major rivals overseas.
However, forex traders said that heavy selling pressure in domestic equity markets and unabated foreign fund outflows limited the local currency’s gains.
The rupee opened higher in the interbank foreign exchange market, at 81.51 to the dollar. During the day, the local unit fluctuated between 81.50 and 81.67.
It eventually settled at 81.53, up 8 paise from the previous close of 81.61.
The rupee fell 2 paise against the US dollar on Wednesday.
Because of Republic Day, the currency markets were closed on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.02 percent to 101.82 following the release of positive macroeconomic data by the US government on Thursday.
Brent crude was up 1.19 percent at USD 88.51 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 874.16 points, or 1.45%, to 59,330.90. Likewise, the NSE Nifty fell 287.60 points, or 1.61 percent, to 17,604.35.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to be net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, selling shares worth Rs 2,393.94 crore.
Source:FE
