Rupee slips 7 paise to close at 74.15 against USD

The rupee gave up intra-day gains to settle 7 paise lower at 74.15 against the US dollar on Monday, tracking weaker Asian peers against the greenback.

Higher crude oil prices also put pressure on the Indian currency.

   

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened higher at 73.95 a dollar and gained further strength to touch a high of 73.83 during the day.

It, however, could not hold on to the gains and finally settled at 74.15 against the greenback, 7 paise lower over its previous close.

Forex traders said that the rupee declined in spite of record buying in equities as strengthening US dollar against key rivals in Asia and elsewhere turned sentiment unfavourable in domestic forex market.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.14 per cent to 92.35.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 2.15 per cent to USD 40.30 per barrel.

Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said, the rupee is likely to “appreciate marginally over the next few days amid portfolio flows into the domestic markets and a weaker US dollar. The only factor limiting the gains of the currency will be RBI coming in and mopping up the flows.”

Exchange data showed that foreign investors bought equities worth Rs 4,548.39 crore on a net basis on Monday.

On the equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 704.37 points or 1.68 per cent higher at 42,597.43 — its record closing high. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty ended at a lifetime high of 12,461.05, up 197.50 points or 1.61 per cent.

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