₹ gains 12 paise to close at 78.94 against US dollar
Press Trust of India
MUMBAI: The rupee rebounded from its all-time low to close 12 paise higher at 78.94 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 78.99 against the greenback and fell to an intra-day low of 79.12. It finally settled at 78.94, a rise of 12 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee had slipped 3 paise to close at a fresh lifetime low of 79.06 against the US dollar. “The Indian government’s effort of tightening exports of oil and imports of gold fell short to change the market mood as the participants remained worried about capital outflows, risk-off sentiments and widening deficit,” said Dilip Parmar, analyst, HDFC Securities.
The recent decline in rupee has been roughly in line with other regional currencies. It is likely to remain under pressure in the near future as long as outflows continue with tighter dollar liquidity, Parmar said, adding, “Spot USD-INR is having resistance at 79.30 and support at 78.70 with a bullish bias.”
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.30% at 105.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,138.05 crore, as per stock exchange data.
The government is watchful and mindful of the impact of falling rupee on the country’s imports, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, while asserting that Indian currency has performed relatively better than others against dollar.