Rupee gains 10 paise to close at 82.08 against US dollar

The rupee strengthened further by 10 paise to close at 82.08 against the US dollar on Thursday, marking its fourth straight session of gain following a firm trend in domestic equities and a weak greenback against major crosses overseas.

However, strengthening crude prices in the international market restricted the upside move in the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened sharply up at 81.98 against the US dollar. It lost some ground later to settle at 82.08 (provisional), up by 10 paise over the previous close.

During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 81.95 and a low of 82.14. This is the fourth straight day of rise for the rupee, during which it has gained 53 paise.

On Wednesday, the rupee had closed at 82.18 against the dollar.

"...at opening the rupee broke above 82 but witnessed some profit booking thereafter as secondary capital markets witnessed selling or profit booking from all time high in Nifty and closing near 19,413.

"The rupee found broad support from Dollar weakness, which now trades below USD 100 after CPI data in the US came lower than expected at 3 per cent against 3.1 per cent, sending strong support to rupee buyers," Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities, said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.20 per cent to 99.99.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.09 per cent to USD 80.18 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 164.99 points or 0.25 per cent higher at 65,558.89. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 29.45 points or 0.15 per cent to 19,413.75.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) emerged as net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they sold shares worth Rs 1,242.44 crore, according to exchange data.