Rupee gains 34 paise to close at 81.38 against U.S. dollar

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The rupee appreciated 34 paise to close at 81.38 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on November 30 as a weak greenback in the overseas market and a rally in domestic equities boosted investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.63 and touched an intra-day high of 81.38 and a low of 81.64 against the greenback.

The local unit finally settled at 81.38, registering a rise of 34 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee declined 4 paise to close at 81.72 against the U.S. dollar.

The Indian rupee registered the first monthly gains in the past eleven-months following a rebound in the risk assets, lower crude oil prices and foreign fund inflows, said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

“It is poised to end the month 1.6% higher, its biggest gain since August 2021,” Mr. Parmar said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.29% to 106.51.

According to Mr. Parmar, the dollar index slipped, weighed by ongoing demand for riskier assets as investors speculated that China may gradually unwind its COVID curbs.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 2.13% to $84.80 per barrel.

Forex traders said investors will focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech and the release of key domestic macro economic data for further cues.

Domestic GDP data for the second quarter, fiscal deficit number for April-October and core sector data for October are scheduled to be released later in the day.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 417.81 points or 0.67% to end at 63,099.65, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 140.30 points or 0.75% to 18,758.35.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Tuesday as they bought shares worth ₹1,241.57 crore, according to exchange data.