Rupee rises 15 paise to close at 82.45 against US dollar

The rupee gained 15 paise to settle at 82.45 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, as a positive trend in domestic equities and easing inflationary pressures strengthened investor sentiment.

Besides, a weak greenback against its major rivals overseas and softening crude oil prices supported the domestic unit, forex traders said.

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At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened flat at 82.60 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 82.40 and a low of 82.71.

It finally ended at 82.45 against the American currency, registering a rise of 15 paise over its previous close of 82.60.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.28 per cent to 103.69.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 144.61 points or 0.23 per cent higher at 62,677.91, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 52.30 points or 0.28 per cent to 18,660.30.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.26 per cent to $ 80.47 per barrel.

The US inflation for November was recorded at 7.1 per cent annually against an annual gain of 7.7 per cent in October, triggering hopes that the US Federal Reserve might be less hawkish in raising interest rates.

The Fed is widely expected to raise its benchmark rate by 0.50 percentage points on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, retail inflation in India dipped below the RBI's upper tolerance level of 6 per cent for the first time in 11 months in November as softening prices of food items brought relief, but the central bank may wait for more data before pausing hikes in interest rates.