Rupee settles 6 paise higher at 74.58 against U.S. dollar

The rupee pared some of its initial gains and settled 6 paise higher at 74.58 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Monday, ahead of the release of key inflation data.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 74.49, and hit an intra-day high of 74.40 and a low of 74.59.

It finally finished at 74.58, higher by 6 paise over its last close.

On Friday, the rupee had settled at 74.64 against the U.S. dollar.

“Indian rupee remained under pressure as traders remained vigilant ahead of macroeconomic data. India CPI data is likely to show that inflation accelerated in June 2021 compared to preceding month and remained above the RBI’s target range of 2-6% for the second consecutive month,” said Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Further, market participants fear that surge in COVID-19 cases in many parts of world may hurt global economic recovery, he added.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.48% to $74.43 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.16% to 92.28.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 13.50 points or 0.03% lower at 52,372.69, while the broader NSE Nifty inched 2.80 points higher or 0.02% to 15,692.60.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,124.65 crore, as per exchange data.