Rupee soars 43 paise to close at 73.39 against US dollar

During the day, the local unit touched an intra-day high.

The rupee strengthened 43 paise to end at 73.39 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday supported by persistent foreign fund inflows and weak American currency.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened on a flat note but soon gained ground and finally ended at 73.39 against the greenback, higher by 43 paise over its previous close of 73.82.

During the day, the local unit touched an intra-day high of 73.29 and a low of 73.87.

Sustained foreign fund inflows, positive domestic equities and a weak US dollar further boosted the local unit, forex traders said.

“A sharp appreciation of 0.75% has been witnessed in rupee amid persistent portfolio inflows and as the domestic currency was eventually seen mirroring the decline in the dollar index,” said Sugandha Sachdeva VP-Metals, Energy and Currency Research, Religare Broking.

Mr. Sachdeva further said that “in the current scenario, the unfettered money printing drive by major central banks has fuelled the ‘risk on’ trade in markets even as the COVID-19 crisis rages on.”

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.72% to 92.33.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth ₹ 1,164.32 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.33% to USD 44.94 per barrel.