Dollar vs Rupee: Rupee strengthened against the US dollar, closed at 86.55 with an increase of five paise.

Mumbai: The rupee rose by five paise to close at 86.55 per dollar (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday in the Interbank Foreign Currency Exchange market. Last night's fall in crude oil prices and improvement in the US dollar index strengthened the business sentiment of investors. Besides, positive trend in domestic stock market also helped the rupee. Forex traders said the rupee is likely to trade within a volatile range of 86.20-86.80 ahead of key events in the global and domestic economic scenario.

In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened strongly at 86.48 against the dollar. The local currency touched a high of 86.46 and a low of 86.57 during the day. It finally closed at 86.55 per dollar (provisional) with a gain of five paise against the US dollar. The rupee had closed at 86.60 in the last session on Friday.

Why did the rupee strengthen against the dollar?

According to Anuj Chaudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset Sharekhan, the rupee strengthened against the dollar due to weakness in the US dollar index and positive domestic markets. Fall in crude oil prices last night also supported the rupee. He further said that we expect the rupee to remain weak due to the underlying strength of the US dollar and dollar demand from importers. However, any further fall in crude oil prices and prolonged gains in domestic markets may support the rupee at lower levels.

US markets remained closed on Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. The spot price of dollar/rupee is expected to be between 86.40 to 86.75. Meanwhile, an index that measures the dollar's strength against six other currencies declined 0.17 percent to 109.16.

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The stock market is back in glory

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