Rupee rises 1ps to 85.53/$

Mumbai: Rupee rose 1paisa to settle at 85.53 against the greenback on Friday on the back of strong FII inflows and a marginal decline in the dollar index. Rupee’s gain was curtailed due to higher Brent crude prices, negative domestic equity markets, and the government data that showed the country’ trade deficit widening in April, according to forex traders. At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened strong at 85.28 and traded in the range of 85.28 to 85.70. It eventually settled at 85.53, up 1paisa from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 22paise to close at 85.54 against the greenback. “Though the Asian currencies were all up, and so were the European currencies, the rupee could not make much headway towards 85.00 level and was getting sold near 85.30 and staying in a range broadly between 85-86 and narrowly between 85.25 and 85.75, which is also the range expected on Monday,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said. The latest government data released on Thursday showed India’s trade deficit widened to a five-month high of $26.42 billion as imports rose 19.12 per cent year-on-year to $64.91 billion in April due to a rise in shipments of crude oil and fertiliser. However, India’s exports also rose 9.03 per cent to $38.49 billion -- the highest in six months -- driven by healthy growth in sectors such as electronics and engineering goods.