Rupee jumps 26 paise to 76.31 as oil cools

The rupee rose 26 paise to close at Rs 76.31 against the US dollar on Thursday, as hopes of de-escalation in Ukraine eased oil prices. After falling 2.6% year-to-date, the rupee has been the worst performing currency in Asia after South Korea’s won. However, over the previous three sessions, the rupee has gained 0.87%.

According to IFA Global Research, the dollar/rupee pair slipped on Thursday because the US dollar weakened against other major currencies as commodity prices eased. This prompted some banks to sell dollars on behalf of traders, who wanted to cover their existing bets placed in favour of the dollar, thereby supporting the sentiment for the rupee.

Prices of Brent crude eased after the UAE, a member of OPEC, said it would support increasing production. Brent was trading at $116.33 a barrel by the close of the market hours. The local currency also found support on certain large corporate inflows and aggressive intervention by the Reserve Bank of India in the foreign exchanged market over the last couple of trading sessions to keep rupee depreciation well-anchored below the Rs 77.00 mark.

gIt seems RBI had intervened around Rs 77 mark. We saw a record low level at the opening and then the rupee remained below Rs 77. So, its clear signal RBI had jumped to the rescue,” said Amit Pabari of CR Forex.

Most Asian currencies rose against the dollar on Thursday.