Rupee edges up 3 paise to close at 77.54 against U.S. dollar

The rupee recovered 3 paise to settle at 77.54 (provisional) against the U.S. currency in a restricted trade on Wednesday as interventions by banks supported the local unit while a stronger dollar in overseas markets restricted the gains.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened higher at 77.54 against the greenback and moved in a range of 77.44 to 77.57 in the day trade.

The rupee finally ended at 77.54, higher by 3 paise over its previous close of 77.57 against the American currency.

“Rupee traded with pendulum swing on a range fight between hedgers as participants from banks tried to support rupee whereas remittance takers of dollar equally bought keeping rupee ranged between 77.47-77.60. The U.S. Fed statement minutes later in the night might give some trend to the USDINR pair in futures,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 303.35 points or 0.56% lower at 53,749.26, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 99.35 points or 0.62% to 16,025.80.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.36% to 102.22.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth ₹2,393.45 crore, as per stock exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, surged 1.26% to $114.99 per barrel.