Rupee rises 4 paise to close at 83.21 against US dollar

(PTI) The rupee appreciated 4 paise to settle at 83.21 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday amid positive equity markets as the Reserve Bank kept the repo rate unchanged in its fourth consecutive monetary policy review.

Selling pressure from foreign equity investors amid elevated levels of the greenback, however, restricted the upward movement of the local currency, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.21 against the dollar and traded between a high of 83.28 and a low of 83.18. It finally settled at 83.21 (provisional) against the dollar, up 4 paise over Thursday's closing level of 83.25.

The six-member monetary policy committee of the Reserve Bank of India on Friday held the benchmark repurchase rate (repo) at 6.50 per cent in a unanimous decision for the fourth policy review meeting in a row.

Noting that inflation remains a risk, the RBI also signalled that it would keep liquidity tight by using bond sales to bring prices closer to the target.

Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said: "Indian rupee appreciated slightly as the RBI maintained status quo and kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent in its monetary policy meeting so as to achieve its medium-term target of 4 per cent inflation.

"According to the RBI, Indian economic activity has shown resilience, and the overall macroeconomic indicators remain favourable with strong manufacturing and services PMI numbers. GDP and CPI inflation projections too were maintained."

He further said that positive domestic markets and a decline in crude oil prices supported the rupee. Also, the softness of the US dollar may support the domestic currency.

"A no-surprise monetary policy by the RBI may also support the domestic currency. However, FII outflows may cap a sharp upside. Traders may take cues from US non-farm payrolls reports, average hourly earnings and unemployment rate data. USD/INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of ₹82.80 to ₹83.70," Choudhary added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02 per cent lower at 106.31.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were 0.08 per cent up at USD 84.14 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 364.06 points, or 0.55 per cent, higher at 65,995.63, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 107.75 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 19,653.50.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, offloading shares worth ₹1,864.20 crore, as per stock exchange data.