On March 9, the rupee touched a high of 81.99 and a low of 82.14 against the dollar. Photo credit: V Sudarshan
The rupee on Friday appreciated by 4 paise to close at 82.02 (provisional) against the US dollar tracking weakness in the American currency overseas.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 82.12 against the American currency and finally settled at 82.02 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a gain of 4 paise over its previous close of 82.06.
The rupee touched a high of 81.99 and a low of 82.14 against the dollar during the day.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.08 per cent to 105.22.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.59 per cent to $81.11 a barrel.
“The Indian rupee declined marginally by 0.04 per cent on Friday amid weak domestic markets. However, a weaker dollar capped the decline,” said Anuj Chowdhary, Research Analyst at Share Khanna by BNP Paribas.
The dollar slipped from a three-month high, rising to 211,000 from the previous week’s 190,000 on weak US markets and disappointing weekly jobless claims data.
Mr. Chowdhary said, “We expect the rupee to trade with a downside bias due to risk aversion in global markets and selling pressure from FIIs. However, a weaker greenback, fall in US treasury yields and fall in crude oil prices will offset the downside. can be reduced.”
Traders may remain cautious ahead of non-farm payrolls, US traders average hourly earnings and unemployment rate data also keep an eye on India’s industrial production data, which is likely to be better than last month, Mr. Chowdhary said.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 671.15 points, or 1.12 per cent, to close at 59,135.13, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 176.70 points, or 1 per cent, to 17,412.90.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they sold shares worth ₹561.78 crore, according to exchange data.