Rupee slips 2 paise to close at 74.20 against US dollar

The rupee weakened by 2 paise to end at 74.20 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday as higher crude oil prices weighed on forex market sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 74.15 per dollar as against its previous close of 74.18.

It hovered in the range of 74.14 to 74.25 during the day before ending at 74.20 against the greenback.

"The Indian rupee remained under pressure on Friday on firm crude oil prices and as market participants remained vigilant ahead of US Core PCE Price Index data," Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.08 per cent to 91.74.

"Dollar is showing weakness amid Fed officials differing view on how long inflation is likely to stay high and when to tighten monetary policy. Market Sentiments improved on news that US President Joe Biden and a group of senators agreed on roughly USD 1 trillion infrastructure plan securing bipartisan deal," he noted

The rupee may gain as number of Covid-19 cases in India continued to decline. Rupee may trade in the range of 73.55 to 74.50 in next couple of sessions, he added.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 226.04 points or 0.43 per cent higher at 52,925.04, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 72.55 points or 0.46 per cent to 15,863.00.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.34 per cent to $75.30 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,890.94 crore, as per exchange data.