Finance
On Friday, the rupee rose 18 paise to close at 81.18 (provisional) against the US dollar, reflecting broad dollar weakness.
However, forex traders said that weak domestic equities and a surge in crude oil prices limited the local currency’s sharp gains.
The local unit opened strong at 81.24 on the interbank foreign exchange market and finished the day at 81.18 (provisional), up 18 paise from its previous close.
During the trading session, the local currency reached an intra-day high of 81.09 and a low of 81.28 against the US dollar.
The rupee closed at 81.36 against the US dollar on Thursday.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.21 percent to 102.26.
Brent crude futures rose 0.48 percent to USD 86.57 per barrel, the global oil benchmark.
Lael Brainard, Vice Chair of the US Federal Reserve, hinted that the US Fed may hike rates at a slower pace of 25 basis points (bps) at the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in February, and that higher rates will be held for longer to tame inflation.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 236.66 points, or 0.39 percent, to end at 60,621.77, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 80.20 points, or 0.44 percent, to 18,027.65.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Thursday as they purchased shares worth Rs 399.98 crore, according to exchange data.
Source:FE
