Rupee rises 7 paise to close at 73.24 a dollar

The Indian rupee staged a smart recovery from the day's lowest level to end 7 paise higher at 73.24 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking an intense rally in domestic equities.

Starting off on a sluggish note, the Indian unit fell to a low of 73.45 against the American currency during the session.

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However, it pared all its intra-day losses to finish at 73.24, up 7 paise from its previous close.

For a better part of the session, the rupee remained under pressure due to stronger American currency against key rivals and surging crude oil prices, which eventually capped its gains.

The rupee had closed 20 paise lower at 73.31 a dollar on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.12 per cent to 89.93.

Global crude oil benchmark Brent was trading higher by 0.31 per cent at USD 54.69 per barrel. On a weekly basis, the rupee dropped 13 paise or 0.17 per cent against the US dollar.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex zoomed 689.19 points or 1.43 per cent to close at a record 48,782.51, while the broader NSE Nifty surged 209.90 points or 1.48 per cent to 14,347.25.

Foreign investors bought shares worth Rs 382.30 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.

"The overall currency market is very lacklustre and USD-INR is seen trading in between 73-73.50. Biden's presidency means heavy spending and borrowing to support the US economic recovery, so the stock market euphoria will continue for sometime.

"Now, whether Biden will continue the tariffs against China or end them that only time will tell us but in our view he won't drop them. So unless there is a new catalyst the USD-INR spot will continue to be in a broader range of 72.90-73.75," said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said the rupee appreciated against the US dollar on Friday supported by hopes of additional fiscal stimulus in a Democrat-controlled US government.

"The local unit had weakened to 73.46 earlier today probably on the back of importers' greenback bids, firm oil prices and an uptick in the dollar index, but recouped losses on the back of strong local equities," he added.

The USD-INR spot pair could trade in a range of 73.15-73.43 levels in the coming sessions, he further said.

The story has been taken from a news agency