Rupee gains 5 paise to close at 81.97 against US dollar

New Delhi, Apr 10 (PTI) The rupee appreciated by 5 paise to settle at 81.97 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, tracking a weak American currency in the overseas market.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.90 against the US currency and finally closed at 81.97 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a gain of 5 paise over its previous close.

During the session, the rupee touched a high of 81.78 and a low of 81.98 against the dollar.

On Thursday, the rupee closed at 82.02 against the US currency. On April 7, equity and forex markets were closed on account of Good Friday.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.02 per cent to 102.06.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 0.05 per cent to USD 85.16 per barrel.

According to Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, a below-normal monsoon forecast by Skymet and a strong dollar in early Asian trade weighed on the rupee but positive domestic equities cushioned the downside.

The dollar strengthened as non-farm payrolls, though slightly below forecast, indicate a tight labour market. Unemployment rate also slipped to 3.5 per cent from 3.6 per cent. This raised odds that Fed may hike interest rates by 25-bps in its FOMC meeting in May, Choudhary said.

“We expect Indian rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on strong US Dollar and positive crude oil prices,” Choudhary said. However, positive global markets and fresh FII inflows may support the rupee at lower levels.

Investors may look forward to CPI, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes retail sales and industrial production data.

On the domestic equity market front, benchmark indices continued their winning run for a sixth day with the 30-share BSE Sensex advancing 13.54 points or 0.02 per cent to end at 59,846.51 and the broader NSE Nifty rising by 24.90 points or 0.14 per cent to 17,624.05.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Thursday as they purchased shares worth Rs 475.81 crore, according to exchange data.