Bombay:
The rupee appreciated 19 paise on Wednesday to close at 82.51 (preliminary) against the US dollar after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the repo rate by 25 basis points.
A rally in domestic stock markets and weakness in the greenback against major foreign crosses also supported the rupee, forex traders said.
However, rising crude prices in the international market and continued outflows of foreign funds mitigated the appreciation bias in the local unit, they added.
In the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened strongly at 82.67 and reached an intraday high of 82.47 and a low of 82.72 against the dollar.
It finally settled at 82.51, 19 paise higher than the previous close of 82.70.
The Reserve Bank of India slowed the pace of rate hikes for a second straight when it expected to raise borrowing costs by 25 basis points on Wednesday, but hinted more to come as core inflation remained high.
The central bank forecast India’s economic growth at 6.4 percent for 2023-2024, broadly in line with the economic survey estimate submitted to parliament last week.
It also estimated that retail inflation would ease from 6.5 percent this year to 5.3 percent next fiscal year, based on assumptions of lower imported inflation, even as core inflation remains stubborn.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.38 percent to 103.03.
Global oil benchmark Brent oil futures rose 1.31 percent to USD 84.79 a barrel.
In the domestic stock market, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 377.75 points, or 0.63 percent, to finish at 60,663.79, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 150.20 points, or 0.85 percent, to 17,871.70.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they sold shares worth Rs 2,559.96 crore, according to exchange data.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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