Rupee surges 27 paise to 82.32 against US dollar

Mumbai, Mar 23 (PTI) The rupee jumped 27 paise to 82.32 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid a weak American currency and inflow of foreign funds in the domestic equity market.

Traders said declining crude oil prices also supported the Indian rupee.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened stronger at 82.38 against the dollar, climbed as high as 82.26 and hit the lowest level of 82.41. Later, the Indian currency was trading at 82.32, registering a gain of 27 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 82.59 against the US dollar. The foreign exchange market was closed on Wednesday on account of Gudi Padwa.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was 0.23 per cent lower at 102.11.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.86 per cent to USD 76.03 per barrel.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 340.92 points or 0.59 per cent lower at 57,873.67 points while the broader NSE Nifty was down 84.25 points or 0.49 per cent at 17,067.65 points.

The decision of the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday to raise interest rate by a quarter of percentage in line with the market expectations boosted the overall investor sentiments.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the domestic capital market on Wednesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 61.72 crore, according to exchange data.