MUMBAI, May 17 : The rupee appreciated 13 paise to close at 83.37 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking positive sentiment in domestic equity markets and fresh foreign fund inflows.
Besides, stable crude prices in international markets and risk-on sentiment among investors supported the local unit, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.50 and touched an intraday high of 83.32 and a low of 83.50.
The domestic unit finally settled at 83.37, a rise of 13 paise from its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 83.50 against the US dollar.
“The rupee turned right, after long consolidation amid state-level banks supplying the dollar along with exporters selling. The debt market inflows, stable crude oil prices and risk-on sentiments supported the rupee to outperform among the Asian currencies in today’s trade.
“In the near term, spot USD/INR has support at 83.30 and breaking of the same will open further downside towards 83.15 while on the higher side, 83.60 becomes major resistance,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 253.31 points, or 0.34 per cent, to close at 73,917.03 points. The broader NSE Nifty settled 62.25 points, or 0.28 per cent, higher at 22,466.10 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the capital markets on Friday, as they bought shares worth Rs 1,616.79 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 104.73, higher by 0.26 per cent.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.13 per cent to USD 83.38 per barrel.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on strengthening of the US dollar amid hawkish Fed speak and weak Asian and European markets. However, a positive tone in domestic markets may support the rupee at lower levels.
“Any fresh FII inflows and/or RBI intervention may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.20 to Rs 83.70,” said Anuj Choudhary — Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas. (PTI)
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