Rupee rises 17 paise to close at 85.40 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 17 paise to settle at 85.40 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, on weak US dollar index and a decline in crude oil prices.

Forex traders said global investors were also cautious as global rating agency Moody's downgraded US investment grade rating, leading to a fall in dollar index.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.43 and moved between the intra-day high of 85.35 and the low of 85.61 against the greenback. The unit ended the session at 85.40 (provisional), registering a gain of 17 paise over its previous closing level.

On Friday, the rupee pared its gains and settled 3 paise lower at 85.57 against the dollar.

"We expect the rupee to trade with a positive bias amid persistent weakness in US dollar index and a weak tone in global crude oil prices," Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan said, adding weak domestic equities capped a sharp upside.

"USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 85.10 to 85.65," he noted.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.86 per cent at 100.22.

The US dollar weakened as Moody's downgraded US credit rating to AA1 from AAA. Economic data from the US released on Friday too disappointed the markets, Choudhary said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.78 per cent to USD 64.90 per barrel in futures trade.

Traders further noted that with Brent hovering around USD 65 per barrel, India, one of the world's largest oil importers, faces the dual challenge of a widening trade deficit and increased dollar demand -- factors that could further strain the rupee.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 271.17 points, or 0.33 per cent, to close at 82,059.42, while the Nifty fell 75.35 points or 0.30 per cent to settle at 24,944.45.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 8,831.05 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped by USD 4.553 billion to USD 690.617 billion during the week ended May 9 on the back of a steep increase in gold assets, the RBI said on Friday.

In the preceding week, the overall reserves had dropped by USD 2.065 billion to USD 686.064 billion. The forex reserves had touched an all-time high of USD 704.885 billion at end-September 2024.