Rupee gains 15 paise to close at 82.68 against the US dollar

The rupee appreciated by 15 paise to close at 82.68 against the US currency on Thursday amid unabated foreign fund inflow and positive trend in domestic equities. Forex traders said upbeat domestic trade deficit data and foreign fund inflows supported investor sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.72 against the American currency and finally settled at 82.68 against the greenback, registering a gain of 15 paise over its previous close of 82.83.

During the trading session, the rupee touched a high of 82.59 and a low of 82.73 against the dollar. "The Indian rupee makes a comeback after three days of a down streak following stronger regional currencies, better-than-expected trade balance numbers and lower crude oil prices," Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, said.

The local unit also got support from dollar inflows as foreign institutions turned buyers into domestic equities in the last couple of days, Parmar said. "In the near-term, spot USD-INR has resistance at 82.95 and support at 82.30. The bias remains positive for the pair as long as it trades above 82.30, the 50 days simple moving average," Parmar said.

According to Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, rupee traded strong amid optimistic domestic trade deficit data and positive FII fund inflow in the last couple of days.

Further, Trivedi noted that falling bullion prices also supported the rupee. "The decline of the dollar index near 103.70 also provided support. RBI selling near 83.00 provided support on dips towards 82.90 but importers positioning near 82.50 shall keep the rise limited," Trivedi added.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.21 per cent to 104.14. Global oil benchmark Brent crude price increased marginally by 0.05 per cent to USD 85.42 per barrel.

According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, rupee consolidated in a narrow range as dollar index and oil remained broadly unchanged. "Rupee looks to be boxed in a range of 82.40 to 83.00 as RBI sits on one end at 82.90 and importers are at the other end. The US PPI data will be released today evening, which may give a direction to the currencies which are moving in a small range," Bhansali said.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 44.42 points or 0.07 per cent to end at 61,319.51, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 20.00 points or 0.11 per cent to 18,035.85.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Thursday as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,570.62 crore, according to exchange data. India's trade deficit in January narrowed to a 12-month low of USD 17.75 billion as imports declined 3.63 per cent year-on-year to USD 50.66 billion. Exports in January dipped 6.58 per cent to USD 32.91 billion, as against USD 35.23 billion a year ago.

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