Rupee gains 71 paise to ₹80.69 against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee appreciated 71 paise to ₹80.69 against the American currency in early trade on Friday, as moderating U.S. CPI data coupled with the fall in the dollar index boosted investor sentiments.

Forex traders said factors like positive domestic equities and weakness in crude oil prices also supported the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at ₹80.76 against the dollar, then gained further ground to touch ₹80.69, registering a rise of 71 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee appreciated 7 paise to close at ₹81.40 against the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.02% to 108.18 on cooling U.S. CPI data.

U.S. headline CPI print came in at 7.7% year-on-year (0.4 month-on-month). Core CPI print which excludes the volatile food and energy components also came in lower at 6.3% year-on-year (0.3% month-on-month), IFA Global Research Academy said in a note.

“We expect the dollar index to remain weak and could test 105.00 levels in the short-term,” said Rahul Kalantri, VP of Commodities, Mehta Equities Ltd.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.27% to $93.92 per barrel.

“We expect the rupee could gain strength in today’s session after a sharp fall in the dollar index and could test 80.80 levels in upcoming sessions,” Mr. Kalantri added.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 1021.78 points or 1.69% higher at 61,635.48. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 282.70 points or 1.57% to 18,310.90.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday as they purchased shares worth ₹36.06 crore, according to exchange data.