Rupee Gains By 20 Paise To 75.46 Against Dollar Tracking Asian Markets

Edited by Sandeep Singh (with inputs from agencies)

26 Jun 2020, 11:33 AM IST

Rupee Vs Dollar: The rupee gained to as high as 75.46 against the dollar during the session

Rupee Vs Dollar Today: The rupee gained by 20 paise - or 0.27 per cent - to touch the 75.46 mark against the US dollar on Friday, tracking strength in Asian currencies. It moved in a range of 75.46-75.54 against the greenback in the first half of the four-hour session, having started the day stronger at 75.52 compared to its previous close of 75.66. Gains in domestic equity markets, foreign fund inflows and weakness in the dollar overseas supported the rupee, say analysts.

Domestic stock markets jumped more than 1 per cent amid gains across sectors, led by buying interest in financial, automobile and metal stocks. The S&P BSE Sensex index added as many as 398.94 points to 35,241.04, whereas the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 10,407.75 compared to its previous close of 10,288.90.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net purchased Indian equities worth Rs 1,090.41 crore ($144.03 million) on Thursday, according to exchange data. Foreign investors have been bullish on domestic share markets for past few sessions.

The dollar index - which gauges the greenback's performance against six currencies - was last seen trading 0.09 per cent lower, having declined as much as 0.12 per cent earlier.

Analysts expect the rupee to continue to move sideways in the near term.

"The rupee is back in the familiar trading range of 75.40-75.95 that prevailed for a long time just prior to the spike above 76 on India-China border tensions," said Abhishek Goenka, founder and CEO of forex advisory firm IFA Global.

"Today is the exchange-traded currency derivative expiry for June. Month-end exporter selling would likely cap the upside. Asian currencies are stronger against the dollar," he added.

Meanwhile, international oil prices rose on Friday, extending gains on optimism about a recovery in fuel demand worldwide, despite a surge in coronavirus infections in some US states and signs of a revival in US crude production. Brent crude futures - the global benchmark for crude oil - rose 1.6 per cent to $41.69 per barrel, and were headed for a mild weekly loss.

Currency markets currently operate within reduced trading hours due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. The temporary timings are from 10 am to 2 pm, instead of the normal timings of 9 am to 5 pm.

At Thursday's close, the rupee is down 6.03 per cent against the US currency so far this year.