Indian rupee erased early losses and appreciated 16 paise to close at 75.02 per dollar, amid buying seen in the domestic equity market and weakening American currency.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit had opened on a weak note but soon recouped the losses amid high volatility and finally settled for the day at 75.02 against the US dollar, gaining 16 paise over its previous close.
It had settled at 75.18 against the US dollar on Thursday.
During the session, the rupee witnessed an intra-day high of 74.98 and a low of 75.25 against the US dollar.
The USD/INR spot traded in the broader range of 74.85-75.50. Traders kept a wary eye on China’s trade relations with the United States and this caution will limit the fall in USD/INR, said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.
Gupta further said that “corporate dollar inflows and government fiscal stimulus package through coronavirus outbreak will keep the risk appetite intact”.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.13 per cent to 96.22.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 306.35 points higher at 36,778.03 and broader NSE Nifty rose 89.20 points to 10,829.15.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,091.08 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.67 per cent to USD 43.08 per barrel.