Rupee Strengthens For Fifth Day Helped By Weaker Dollar And Crude

The Indian rupee on Monday extended its gains for the fifth straight day, primarily driven by a weaker dollar and softer crude prices as hopes of a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine political crisis emerged.

After opening strong at 74.51 against the greenback, from Friday's close of 74.66, the rupee extended those gains and rose to a high of 74.35 as crude oil traded below $95 per barrel.

But forex outflows and Indian equity indices extending their losing run for the fourth straight session pushed the rupee to give up some of those gains to close at 74.55 per dollar.

The rupee was cheered by the dollar weakness and crude prices falling below $95, according to Mr Jateen Trivedi, a Senior Research Analyst at LKP Securities.

The dollar index, considered a safe-haven asset, eased by 0.26 per cent to 95.79 and Brent crude fell to $93.51 after reports emerged of a likely summit between US President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin to discuss the Ukrainian border crisis.

While global equities and risk assets steadied on Monday, Indian equity bourses fell for the fourth straight session, with the BSE Sensex ending 149.38 points or 0.26 per cent lower at 57,683.59. The broader NSE Nifty declined 69.65 points or 0.40 per cent to 17,206.65.

The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have remained net sellers of India capital markets as they sold equities worth 2,529.96 crore rupees on Friday.