Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A day after India and Oman signed a free-trade agreement (FTA), and the likelihood of New Delhi signing deals with the European Union (EU) and the USA in the coming weeks, Indian rupee rose 54 paise on Friday, strengthening past 90 per USD.
The media reports, quoting forex traders, said a positive trend in domestic equities and Brent crude oil prices hovering near USD 59 per barrel also supported the domestic unit at lower levels.
The rupee appreciated 54 paise to close at 89.66 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, supported by corporate dollar inflows and easing crude oil prices.
The gain in the USD/INR pair follows the rupee’s string of record lows in recent weeks, likely on intervention from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
At the interbank foreign exchange, the Indian rupee opened at 90.19 against the US dollar, then recovered some lost ground to touch an intra-day high of 89.25, registering a 95-paise gain from its previous close.
At the end of the trading session on Friday, the Indian currency was quoted at 89.66 (provisional), up 54 paise from its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee appreciated by 18 paise to close at 90.20 against the US dollar. It sank to a fresh record low, breaching the 91-a-dollar mark for the first time on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.24 percent higher at 98.66.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.37 percent lower at USD 59.60 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 447.55 points to settle at 84,929.36, while the Nifty surged 150.85 points to 25,966.40.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs. 595.78 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
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