Rupee logs 1st decline in four days, down 3 paise against USD
Mumbai, January 16 dmanewsdesk: The rupee snapped its three-session winning streak and settled for the day 3 paise lower at 73.07 against the US dollar on Friday, with weaker Asian peers and heavy selloffs in domestic equities weighing on sentiment.
At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 73.07 and hit an intra-day high of 72.99 and a low of 73.15. It finally finished at 73.07, lower by 3 paise to US dollar.
On a weekly basis, the rupee has appreciated by 17 paise or 0.23 per cent.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.16 per cent to 90.38.
“The movement in USD/INR spot is in tandem with other Asian peers and going ahead the optimism over US stimulus package will keep it lower,” said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research-Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.
Gupta further said that there was not much volatility this week and also RBI’s participation in spot was subdued.
Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 971.06 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.
“The Indian rupee ended flat against the US currency this Friday, however, for the week the local unit appreciated against the US Dollar aided by persistent equity and corporate fund-related dollar inflows,” said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.
According to Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research Indian Rupee fell as dollar rebounded against major trading currencies.
“Profit booking was witnessed in all risky assets after the announcement of US fiscal stimulus and dovish federal reserve speakers,” Vakil said and added that “Rupee is expected to consolidate in range of 72.75 to 73.30”.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 549.49 points or 1.11 per cent lower at 49,034.67, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 161.90 points or 1.11 per cent to 14,433.70.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.51 per cent to USD 55.57 per barrel.
Source: PTI
