Finance
The rupee strengthened 8 paise to trade at 83.16 against the US dollar on Friday, supported by new inflows of foreign money and a favorable trend in domestic markets.
However, rising global crude oil prices and a strong US dollar outside limited local unit gains, according to forex traders.
The local currency started the day flat against the US dollar at 83.23 on the interbank foreign exchange market.
The rupee saw fluctuations against the US dollar, closing at 83.24 one day and rising to 83.12 the next. Ultimately, it finished at 83.16, up 8 paise from its previous close.
“The Indian rupee remained the second-best performer among the Asian currencies following Chinese currencies. The dollar inflows and stable crude oil prices helped the rupee to buck the past two week’s bearish trend,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.
The soft-landing script might be momentarily reversed, according to Parmar, if there are expectations of a positive US jobs report in December.
Parmar stated that traders will be keenly monitoring India’s 2024 growth prediction in order to determine the direction of the currency the following week. In terms of levels, spot USD/INR has support at 83.10 and resistance at 83.35.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the US dollar relative to a basket of six other currencies, was down 0.25 percent at 102.68 in the meantime.
The world oil benchmark, Brent crude futures, increased by 0.90 percent to USD 78.29 a barrel.
Regarding the local equity market, the Sensex reached 72,026.15 points, up 178.58 points, or 0.25 percent. To reach 21,710.80 points, the Nifty increased by 52.20 points, or 0.24 percent.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 1,513.41 crore on Thursday, making them net purchasers in the capital markets.
Regarding the macroeconomic front at home, favorable demand patterns and favorable economic conditions helped India’s services sector increase to a three-month high in December.
The HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index, which is seasonally adjusted, increased sharply from 56.9 in November to 59 in December, marking the strongest output growth since September.
Source:IE
