The rupee appreciated by 32 paise to 80.98 against the US dollar in early trade. file | Photo credit: The Hindu
The rupee appreciated 32 paise to 80.98 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the rate hike may slow down.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.08 against the dollar, then recovered to 80.98, registering a gain of 32 paise over its previous close.
The rupee appreciated 42 paise to close at 81.30 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking month-end selling of the dollar by exporters and rebalancing of MSCI related inflows.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.27% to 105.66.
Fed Chair Powell gave a clear indication in his speech on Wednesday that the Fed will slow the pace of rate hikes in December policy and increase rates by 50 basis points.
Overall, the discourse can be said to be biased towards moderation in forward sentiment and this has given a lot of comfort to the markets, IFA Global Research Academy said in a research note.
“Rupee has strengthened offshore post Powell’s speech. It is likely to trade in the range of 80.90-81.30,” said the note.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 2.89 per cent to $85.43 a barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 432.09 points or 0.68% higher at 63,531.74. The broader NSE Nifty rose 118.15 points, or 0.63%, to 18,876.50.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Wednesday, buying shares worth Rs 9,010.41 crore, according to exchange data.