MUMBAI, Oct 16: The rupee appreciated for the second consecutive session on Thursday, rising 12 paise to close at 87.96 against the US dollar.
The gain was supported by a weaker dollar against major global currencies, renewed investor risk appetite, likely Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervention, and strong domestic equity market performance.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 87.76, touched an intraday high of 87.68, and finally settled at 87.96, up from Wednesday’s close of 88.08.
The previous session had seen a sharp 73 paise rebound — the rupee’s biggest intraday gain in nearly four months.
Analysts attributed the rise to foreign fund inflows and RBI’s strategic market support. Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, noted that the rupee’s direction going forward will depend on dollar flow trends and global geopolitical developments.
He added that the currency may trade within a narrow range ahead of the upcoming holiday.
Technically, USD/INR shows support at 87.60 and resistance at 88.70.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was down 0.21% at 98.58.
Meanwhile, Brent crude rose 0.36% to USD 62.12 per barrel.
On the domestic front, equity markets extended gains, with the Sensex jumping 862.23 points to 83,467.66 and the Nifty rising 261.75 points to 25,585.30.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 997.29 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
In trade data, India’s exports grew 6.74% to USD 36.38 billion in September, while imports rose 16.6%, pushing the trade deficit to USD 31.15 billion — the highest in over a year. (PTI)
