NEW DELHI: The rupee increased by 27 paise to close at 83.03 compared to the US dollar on Friday, following unabated foreign fund inflows and a record-breaking rally in domestic stocks.
The domestic currency opened flat at 83.30 against the dollar at the interbank foreign exchange. It recovered the losses and surged to a high of 82.94, after touching the day’s low of 83.32 in early trade and finally closed at 83.03, up 27 paise over the previous close of 83.3. On a weekly basis, the currency rose 37 paise. Stock markets continued their rally with benchmark BSE Sensex breaching the new milestone of 71,000.
As per forex dealers, heavy buying by foreign investors also boosted the rupee sentiment. This upward movement was supported by a robust performance in the capital markets, which saw a 6% rally following the state elections result. Rupee saw a strong rally, breaking its prolonged consolidation range between 83.20-83.45.
The dollar index, which measures greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was flat at 101.01. The 10-year US yields fell below 4% level on Thursday after signals by the US Fed to cut rates
next year.