Rupee slips 7 paise to close at 74.15 against USD
Mumbai: The rupee gave up intra-day gains to settle 7 paise lower at 74.15 against the US dollar on Monday, tracking weaker Asian peers against the greenback.
Higher crude oil prices also put pressure on the Indian currency.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened higher at 73.95 a dollar and gained further strength to touch a high of 73.83 during the day.
It, however, could not hold on to the gains and finally settled at 74.15 against the greenback, 7 paise lower over its previous close.
Forex traders said that the rupee declined in spite of record buying in equities as strengthening the US dollar against key rivals in Asia and elsewhere turned sentiment unfavorable in the domestic forex market.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.14 percent to 92.35.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 2.15 percent to USD 40.30 per barrel.
Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said, the rupee is likely to "appreciate marginally over the next few days amid portfolio flows into the domestic markets and a weaker US dollar. The only factor limiting the gains of the currency will be RBI coming in and mopping up the flows."
Exchange data showed that foreign investors bought equities worth Rs 4,548.39 crore on a net basis on Monday.
On the equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 704.37 points or 1.68 percent higher at 42,597.43 -- its record closing high.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty ended at a lifetime high of 12,461.05, up 197.50 points or 1.61 percent.
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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.
