The rupee on Thursday strengthened by 15 paise to close at 82.73 (provisional) against the US dollar, tracking losses in its regional peers and crude oil prices.
Forex traders said a muted trend in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment and restricted the appreciation bias.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 82.78 against the American currency and finally closed at 82.73 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a gain of 15 paise over its previous close of 82.88.
The rupee touched a high of 82.71 and a low of 82.79 against the dollar during the trading session.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.02% to 104.61.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.34% to $80.87 a barrel.
Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said, “Indian rupee appreciated after two days of gains in strong regional peers and fall in crude oil prices. After last night’s February FOMC minutes, US yields firmed up, while the dollar eased significantly.” Be silent.”
“In the near term, we believe the spot USDINR will consolidate between 82.50 to 83, but till it holds at 81.70, the directional trend remains bullish,” Mr. Parmar added. On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 139.18 points, or 0.23%, to end at 59,605.80, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 43.05 points, or 0.25%, to 17,511.25.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they sold shares worth Rs 579.82 crore, according to exchange data.