Rupee gains for 2nd straight session; settles 46 paise up at 69.56 vs USD

The rupee appreciated for the second straight session Tuesday to close higher by 46 paise at 69.56 against the US dollar as crude oil prices retreated from six-month high levels and the greenback weakened against global rivals.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic unit opened at 69.83 and advanced to a high of 69.52 during the day. It finally settled at 69.56, registering a rise of 46 paise against the dollar over its previous close.

The rupee had rebounded by 23 paise to close at 70.02 against the US dollar Friday. The forex market was closed on Monday due to general elections in Mumbai.

 

"Rupee gains for the second day amid retracement in crude prices from the six-month highs," V K Sharma, Head PCG & Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities said, adding that the activity remained light on account of holiday-shortened week.

Sharma further said that "going forward, the month of May would remain volatile due to crucial election results scheduled on May 23".

Meanwhile, the Dollar Index which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.30 per cent to 97.56.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in capital markets, putting in Rs 114.59 crore Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.24 per cent to trade at USD 72.93 per barrel. Despite the rise, crude prices have recovered significantly from its 6-month high of 75.60 per barrel.

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty Tuesday ended marginally lower after a volatile session, dragged by private sector lender Yes bank which posted a loss of Rs 1,506 crore in the March quarter on higher bad loans provisioning.

The BSE Sensex closed with 0.09 per cent or 35.78 points loss at 39,031.55, while the NSE Nifty ended 0.06 per cent or 6.50 points lower at 11,748.15.

Meanwhile, Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 69.8368 and for rupee/euro at 78.0771. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 90.3348 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 62.68.