Rupee rises 4 paise to settle at 83.92 against US dollar

Mumbai, Sep 13: The rupee witnessed range-bound trade and settled for the day higher by 4 paise at 83.92 against the US dollar on Friday supported by weakening of the American currency in the overseas market and significant foreign fund inflows.

Forex traders said rupee stayed range-bound as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is maintaining a firm grip on the domestic currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.92 and witnessed an intraday high of 83.85 and a low of 83.98 against the American currency.

The domestic unit finally settled for the day at 83.92, higher by 4 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, the local unit settled 3 paise higher at 83.96 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.46 per cent to 100.90 points.

Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said the rupee gained on Friday amid weak American currency and rise in global risk sentiments.

He attributed the weak greenback to disappointing weekly unemployment data from the US, while huge FII inflows in domestic equities worked in favour of the rupee.

The Indian currency is expected to trade with a slight positive bias as domestic markets are trading near record highs and fresh FII inflows, Choudhary said, adding, "USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.70 to Rs 84.10."

Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 1.03 per cent to USD 72.71 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 71.77 points, or 0.09 per cent, to close at 82,890.94 points, while the Nifty fell 32.40 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 25,356.50 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Friday, as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,364.82 crore, according to exchange data.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, retail inflation in August inched up to 3.65 per cent, though vegetables and pulses witnessed price rise in double digits, according to official data released on Thursday.

India's industrial production output decelerated to 4.8 per cent year-on-year in July 2024, mainly due to poor performance of the manufacturing and mining sectors, as per official data released on Thursday.