Rupee settles 16 paise higher at 75.02 against USD

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The rupee appreciated by 16 paise to close at 75.02 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking gains in domestic equities and lower crude oil prices.

On weekly basis, the domestic currency logged 18 paise gains over the American unit.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened on a weak note but soon recouped the losses and finally settled for the day at 75.02 against the US dollar, gaining 16 paise over its previous close.

During the session, the rupee witnessed an intra-day high of 74.98 and a low of 75.25 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.29 per cent to 96.06.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.55 per cent to USD 43.13 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE benchmark Sensex surged 1.5 per cent or 548 points to close at 37,020; while the broader NSE Nifty rose 1.51 per cent or 161.75 points to end at 10,902.

"Rupee gained this week following weaker dollar and strength in domestic equities. The price action in rupee is mirrored with the risk on sentiments. Spot USD/INR manages to end the week slightly above 75 levels. We could see the level of 74.50 with upside resistance remain around 75.60," said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

Analysts also said that optimism over the coronavirus vaccine has lifted the market sentiment.

"The bias for the rupee is skewed towards appreciation, at least in the near term, on the back of persistent inflows and hopes of a potential coronavirus vaccine,” Sugandha Sachdeva, VP-Metals, Energy & Currency Research, Religare Broking, said.

Meanwhile, the number of cases around the world linked to COVID-19 has crossed 1.38 crore and the death toll has topped 5.90 lakh.

In India, the death toll due the disease rose to 25,602 and the number of infections rose to 10,03,832, according to the health ministry.

Meanwhile, the Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 75.2420 and for rupee/euro at 85.8025.
The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 94.4588 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 70.37.