Re rises 4 paise to 82.47/USD

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated by 4 paise to close at 82.47 against the US dollar on Friday amid foreign fund inflows.

Forex traders said a strong dollar overseas and weak sentiment in domestic equities capped the gains in the domestic currency. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.49 against the dollar and finally settled at 82.47, up 4 paise from its previous close. During the session, it touched a peak of 82.41 and a low of 82.50 against the greenback. On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 82.51 against the dollar. The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday opted to pause for the second time in a row, maintaining the key benchmark policy rate at 6.5 per cent citing moderate inflation. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.19 per cent to 103.54.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.38 per cent to $76.25 per barrel. On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 223.01 points or 0.35 per cent lower at 62,625.63 points.