Rupee Gains 36 Paise to Close at 86 Against US Dollar

Mumbai, Mar 21 (PTI) Rising for the sixth straight session, the rupee appreciated 36 paise to close at 86 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday on a sharp rise in the domestic equity markets and fresh foreign capital inflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 86.26, then touched an intraday high of 85.93 and a low of 86.30 against the greenback. The unit ended the session at 86 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a gain of 36 paise from its previous closing level.

On Thursday, the rupee stayed almost flat and appreciated just 1 paisa to close at 86.36 against the US dollar.

This is the sixth straight session of gain for the rupee, during which it has added 123 paise.

"We expect the rupee to trade higher on strength in the domestic equities and fresh FII inflows. However, positive crude oil prices may cap sharp gains. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 85.80 to 86.25," said Anuj Choudhary - Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.19 per cent higher at 104.04.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.29 per cent to USD 71.79 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 557.45 points, or 0.73 per cent, to settle at 76,905.51, while the Nifty advanced 159.75 points, or 0.69 per cent, to close at 23,350.40 points.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 3,239.14 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.