Rupee opens 7 paise higher at 82.23 against the US dollar
The Indian rupee opened 7 paise higher against the US dollar on Tuesday, led by a pullback in the dollar index and a narrowing of India’s trade deficit. The rupee opened at 82.23 against the US dollar compared to its previous close of 82.30.
The US dollar remained under pressure, weighed down by the risk of a US default as a stalemate between Democrats and Republicans over raising the debt ceiling showed little sign of resolution, Reuters reported.
The US dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of six major counterparts, held little change at 102.46 after falling 0.26% overnight and retreating from a high point in five months.
On Monday, the rupee closed 15 paise lower at 82.30 against the US dollar, weighed down by the strength of the US currency in the overseas market.
The euro, which has the largest weight in the dollar index, changed little on Tuesday at $1.0873 after bouncing overnight from a five-week low. Sterling fell 0.1% to $1.2520, after rallying 0.67% from Monday. The yen, hit by the widening spread between long-term rates in the US and Japan, reached a nearly two-week low.
Meanwhile, Asian markets trimmed gains after data from China showed slower-than-expected growth in both consumer spending and industrial activity in April. The offshore yuan weakened.
Crude oil prices, on the other hand, rose in early trading, with benchmark Brent oil rising 0.43% to $75.55 a barrel and WTI crude oil price rising 0.43% to $71.41 a barrel .
On the domestic front, India’s trade deficit fell to $15.2 billion in April from $19.7 billion in the previous month. The shortage of goods and services fell to a 21-month low of $1.38 billion.
Indian stock markets rose on Monday with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty finishing at their highest level in 5 months and Bank Nifty posting a record high as investor sentiment improved amid cooling domestic wholesale and retail inflation coupled with continued inflows of foreign capital.
The BSE Sensex gained 317.81 points, or 0.51%, to close at 62,345.71, while the NSE Nifty50 was up 84.05 points, or 0.46%, at 18,398.85.
The Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) bought net Indian equities worth €1,685.29 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought net shares worth €191.20 crore on Monday.
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