Rupee pares initial gains, settles 1 paisa higher at 84.53 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee on Friday hit a seven-month high and rose past the 84 per dollar level on sustained foreign fund inflows and stronger domestic data, but pared the gains and settled for the day higher by just 1 paisa at 84.53 against the greenback.

In a highly volatile trade, the rupee on Friday touched an intra-day high of 83.76 -- the highest levels since October 2024 -- but failed to sustain the momentum and ended the session on a flat note with gains of just 1 paisa.

Forex traders said goods and services tax (GST) collections for April were robust at Rs 2.37 lakh crore, an all-time high, reflecting the health of domestic demand. Moreover, strong PMI data, wherein India's manufacturing sector growth hit 10-month high in April, enthused investors further.

However, caution lingers, as they noted any escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan could swiftly reverse gains and pressure the rupee, much like past geopolitical episodes.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.98 and moved between the intra-day high of 83.76 and the low of 84.55 against the greenback. The unit ended the session at 84.53 (provisional), registering a gain of 1 paisa over its previous closing level.

On Wednesday, the rupee surged 42 paise to 84.54 against the US dollar.

The forex market was closed on Thursday on account of Maharashtra Day.

"Indian Rupee appreciated sharply to the highest levels since October 2024 on FII inflows and reports of selling of Dollars by foreign banks," said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan.

"We expect the rupee to trade with a positive bias on positive domestic markets and FII inflows. Decline in crude oil prices and overall weakness in US Dollar amid disappointing economic data out of the US may further support the rupee," Choudhary said.

Choudhary further noted that traders may take cues from non-farm payrolls reports and factory orders from the US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 83.70 to 84.50, he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.39 per cent at 99.85.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.51 per cent to USD 61.81 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 259.75 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 80,501.99, while the Nifty advanced 12.50 points, or 0.05 per cent to 24,346.70.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 50.57 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, the growth momentum in the Indian manufacturing sector improved in April, with output increasing at the fastest pace since June 2024, on the back of another strong expansion in order books, a monthly survey said on Friday.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from 58.1 in March to 58.2 in April, indicating the strongest improvement in the health of the sector for 10 months.

GST collections rose 12.6 per cent year-on-year to an all-time high of about Rs 2.37 lakh crore in April, which the government said shows the resilience of the Indian economy and the effectiveness of cooperative federalism.

The gross GST mop-up was Rs 2.10 lakh crore in April 2024 -- the second-highest collection ever since GST was rolled out on July 1, 2017. The net mop-up was Rs 1.92 lakh crore.