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Rupee At 72-Levels Amid Easing Crude Oil Prices: 10 Points
09 Nov 2018, 11:52 AM IST 
INR Vs USD: Softening crude prices, results of US-mid-term polls lifted the rupee, traders said.
- The rupee opened strong at 72.68 and advanced further to trade at 72.65, reflecting a rise of 35 paise over its previous close of 73 against the dollar.
- The rise was also supported by dollar-selling by exporters and banks and the US unit's weakness against some currencies overseas, traders said.
- US mid-term election results in which the Democrats wrested the House of Representatives from the ruling Republican party, also supported the rupee, they said.
- The Democrats now have majority in the 435-member House, while Trump's party has retained majority in the 100-member Senate.
- Oil prices entered the bear territory as they declined by 20 per cent amid rising supply and concerns of an economic slowdown. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $61.63 per barrel at 0125 GMT, down 4 cents from their last settlement. Front-month Brent crude oil futures were at $70.79 a barrel, 14 cents above their last close, reported news agency Reuters.
- India imports about 82 per cent of its crude requirements. Crude oil prices which surged to four-year highs in October had been weighing down the local unit.
- Credit ratings agency Crisil said earlier that the rupee may appreciate to 71 against the dollar by March 2019 on positive factors such as the dip in crude prices and the $75-billion currency swap with Bank of Japan.
- Meanwhile, the domestic stock markets traded in the red in morning deals. At 10 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 110.39 points or 0.31 per cent to 35,127.29 and the Nifty50 barometer of the National Stock Exchange lost 32.55 points or 0.31 per cent to trade at 10,565.85.
- On Thursday, the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady but remained on track to keep gradually tightening borrowing costs, as it pointed to a healthy economy that was marred only by a dip in the growth of business investment.
- On Wednesday, when the stock market opened for Mahurat Trading for an hour, foreign institutional investors (FIIs), which had been selling on Indian bourses, made fresh purchases worth Rs 31.02 crore. Domestic institutional investors bought net shares of Rs 27.11 crore, showed data on the NSE. (With agencies inputs)
