Rupee rises to 85.49 on FII inflows and stock market gains; Brent crude caps further upside

The rupee appreciated by 23 paise to 85.49 against the US dollar on Friday, backed by strong FII inflows and buoyant equity markets. However, a rise in Brent crude prices and a stronger dollar index limited further appreciation.

Mumbai: The rupee rose 23 paise to 85.49 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, aided by strong FII inflows and positive sentiments in the domestic equity markets.

However, a rise in global crude oil prices and a slightly stronger greenback capped further gains in the local unit, forex traders said.

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Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 12,594.38 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 85.50 against the dollar before inching up to 85.49, higher by 19 paise from its previous close. The local unit rose 36 paise to close at 85.72 against the US dollar on Thursday.

“The rupee is expected to be within a range of 85.35-85.95 as inflows dominated outflows yesterday (Thursday), taking the Indian currency up. We expect the same today (on Friday), though there could be outflows from oil, RBI buying, and FPI buying dollars,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.10 per cent at 97.24.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, went up 0.47 per cent to USD 68.05 per barrel in futures trade after declining in the previous session.

“Brent oil prices rose slightly in Asian trading on some resilience in US demand but were set for weekly losses this week as concerns over the Middle East demands cleared after the Iran-Israel ceasefire,” Bhansali said.

Meanwhile, in the domestic equity market, Sensex rose 229.22 points to 83,985.09 in early trade, while Nifty was up 73.5 points to 25,622.50.