Rupee rises 9ps to 88.11/$

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 9paise to close at 88.11 against the US dollar on Friday, supported by optimism on US-India trade negotiations. Likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also helped the domestic unit in controlling volatility and preventing a quick depreciation, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 88.22, then touched an intraday low of 88.34 and a high of 88.06 against the greenback.

The domestic unit finally settled at 88.11, higher by 9paise over its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 35paise to close at 88.20 against the US dollar.

There is optimism over US-India trade negotiations after Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran expressed optimism that the penal tariff imposed on certain imports will likely be withdrawn after November 30. Nageswaran on Thursday said he expects that a solution to the tariff issues with the US is likely to arrive in the next eight to ten weeks. “I hope that the penal tariff would possibly be removed by the end of November,” he said at an interactive session organised by Bharat Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata on Thursday. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.17 per cent to 97.51.