Rupee rises 7ps to 90.87/$

Mumbai: The rupee gained 7paise to settle at 90.87 against the US dollar, aided by a sharp fall in global crude oil prices and a weaker greenback amid renewed global trade-related uncertainties. However, foreign fund outflows, coupled with geopolitical concerns, capped gains for the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.76 and traded in the range of 90.67-90.89 against the greenback during the session. It eventually settled at 90.87, up 7paise from its previous close.

The rupee plunged 26paise to settle at 90.94 against the US dollar on Friday. “Rupee rose to 90.67 but was not able to sustain gains as equities did not sustain the morning highs as debt yields rose. Despite the favourable verdict from the US Supreme Court, the rupee did not make any big gains, and the dollar was bought on every dip by importers and other buyers like the FPIs,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

The rupee is expected to be in the range of 90.60 to 91.00, he said. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.32 per cent at 97.47.

On Friday, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 934.61 crore, according to exchange data. India’s forex reserves jumped USD 8.663 billion to hit a new all-time high of USD 725.727 billion in the week ended February 13, the RBI said on Friday.