MUMBAI, Nov 11: The Indian rupee strengthened by 23 paise to close at 88.50 against the US dollar on Tuesday, buoyed by progress on the US government shutdown and optimism over a potential US-India trade deal.
The domestic unit opened at 88.69, reached an intraday high of 88.50, and fell to a low of 88.72.
Analysts attributed the gain to rising global risk appetite, a weaker dollar, and market hopes that the US shutdown would soon end.
Despite the uptick, elevated crude oil prices and importer demand for dollars limited further gains.
Brent crude rose 0.34% to USD 64.28 per barrel, while the dollar index inched up 0.03% to 99.61.
Comments from US President Donald Trump that the US was “pretty close” to finalizing a trade deal with India further supported the rupee.
Domestic equities also saw gains, with Sensex rising 335.97 points to 83,871.32 and Nifty climbing 120.60 points to 25,694.95, even as foreign investors offloaded equities worth Rs 803.22 crore.Analysts expect the rupee to trade in a volatile range of 88.30–88.80 in the near term. (PTI)
