Rupee falls 7 paise to close at 88.03 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee pared initial gains and settled for the day lower by 7 paise at 88.03 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, weighed down by trade tensions and global uncertainties.

Forex traders said renewed foreign fund inflows and lower crude oil prices boosted investor sentiment further and restricted the downfall.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened below the 88-mark at 87.91 against the greenback, and touched an intraday high of 87.75. The domestic unit finally settled at 88.03 (provisional), registering a fall of 7 paise from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee appreciated 12 paise to close at 87.96 against the US dollar, logging gains for the second straight session.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11 per cent lower at 98.22.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.10 per cent lower at USD 60.39 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 484.53 points to settle at 83,952.19, while the Nifty climbed 124.55 points to 25,709.85.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 997.29 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

India on Thursday said it is "broad-basing and diversifying" its sourcing of energy to meet market conditions, hours after US President Donald Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that New Delhi will stop procuring Russian crude oil.

India's continuing purchase of petroleum products from Russia notwithstanding Western sanctions has become a major issue that resulted in severe downturn in ties between New Delhi and Washington.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to questions on Trump's remarks that Modi made the assurance to him on Wednesday, said he was not aware of any such phone conversation, adding India's oil purchases are guided to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumers in a "volatile" energy scenario.

"Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy. This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions," Jaiswal added.