Rupee Rises Against US Dollar Amid Trade Optimism

Mumbai, Sep 19 (PTI) The rupee appreciated 9 paise to close at 88.11 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, supported by optimism on US-India trade negotiations.

Likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also helped the domestic unit in controlling volatility and preventing a quick depreciation, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 88.22, then touched an intraday low of 88.34 and a high of 88.06 against the greenback. The domestic unit finally settled at 88.11 (provisional), higher by 9 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 35 paise to close at 88.20 against the US dollar.

There is optimism over US-India trade negotiations after Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran expressed optimism that the penal tariff imposed on certain imports will likely be withdrawn after November 30.

Nageswaran on Thursday said he expects that a solution to the tariff issues with the US is likely to arrive in the next eight to ten weeks.

"I hope that the penal tariff would possibly be removed by the end of November," he said at an interactive session organised by Bharat Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.17 per cent to 97.51.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.59 per cent lower at USD 67.04 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 387.73 points to settle at 82,626.23, while Nifty dropped 96.55 points to 25,327.05.

Foreign Institutional Investors bought equities worth Rs 366.69 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, trade talks between India and the US are progressing and are moving in the right direction, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

He said Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch was in New Delhi on September 16 for a daylong talk with the Indian official team.

The talks were important as the US has imposed a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods.