Rupee slips 3 paise to 74.18 per USD
Mumbai: The rupee depreciated by 3 paise to close at 74.18 against the US dollar on Tuesday as higher crude oil prices and a stronger greenback overseas weighed on sentiment.
The rise in crude oil prices had a negative impact on the domestic unit, but robust domestic equities supported the rupee and restricted the fall, experts said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic currency opened higher at 74.04 a dollar, but could not hold the momentum and finally settled 3 paise lower at 74.18.
During the session, the local unit reached a high of 74.02 and touched 74.30 at the lower end.
On Monday, the rupee had lost 7 paise to close at 74.15 against the US dollar.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, strengthened 0.17 percent to 92.87.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.34 percent to USD 42.97 per barrel.
In the equity markets, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 680.22 points or 1.60 percent to close at its lifetime peak of 43,277.65.
The broader NSE Nifty too ended at a record 12,631.10, up 170.05 points or 1.36 percent.
"Rupee traded weak after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened in spot and then paid in forward to neutralize liquidity a kind of swap seen when the market needs to balanced.
"The range on rupee remains near 74.00-74.75. Crude prices also inching higher crossing USD 42 and USD 40 in Brent and WTI, respectively, can keep rupee little bit weak going ahead," said Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst (Commodity and Currency) at LKP Securities.
Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 4,548.39 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.
"Central bank is absorbing a lot of dollar flows and that is restricting the appreciation of Indian currencies. For the third consecutive session Rupee traded near the 74 mark. In the last two days, WTI Crude oil prices rose around 10 percent on vaccine optimism and Biden's US Presidential victory," said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
The rupee fell against the US dollar despite sharp gains in domestic and global equities, but primarily on the back of short covering and marginal rebound in dollar against its major crosses, said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
"Riskier assets got a boost after Pfizer said the experimental COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90 percent effective based on initial trial results," he further said.
On the domestic front, the focus will now be on inflation and industrial production data that will be released this week and price rise could keep the rupee gains in check, he added.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
