Rupee recovers to 76.60 against U.S. dollar as crude falls, stocks rally

Snapping its two-day losing streak, the rupee rose by 4 paise to 76.60 against the United States dollar on Tuesday, following a rebound in regional currencies and domestic equities.

However, the appreciation bias in the local unit will be capped in the near-term amid fears about the economic impact of China’s COVID-19 lockdowns and an aggressive pace of the U.S. rate hikes, traders said.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 76.48 against the greenback and moved in a range of 76.43 to 76.69 in the day trade. The rupee traded at 76.60 at 3.30 p.m., higher by 4 paise over its previous close of 76.64.

“Indian rupee inched up after two days of sharp sell-off following rebound in regional currencies and domestic equities. The fall in crude oil and commodity prices and expectations of foreign fund inflows from LIC IPO supported the rupee,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

However, the local unit is still not out of the woods as strength in the dollar against major currencies, weaker economic growth, higher inflation are likely to limit the gains.

“Broadly, spot USDINR is expected to trade in the range of 76 to 77 while near term directions will be followed by risk moods and movement in Chinese yuan,” Mr. Parmar said.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 776.72 points or 1.37% higher at 57,356.61, while the broader NSE Nifty jumped 246.85 points or 1.46% to 17,200.80.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.49% to $101.82 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, surged 0.06% to 101.81.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth ₹3,302.85 crore, as per stock exchange data.