Rupee settles 21 paise higher at 69.15 to US dollar

The Indian rupee on Wednesday advanced by 21 paise to close at 69.15 against the US currency in line with uptrend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 69.40 a dollar and advanced to a high of 69.07 during the day. It finally settled at 69.15, up 21 paise against its previous close of 69.36.

Forex dealers said a positive sentiment built up ahead of a scheduled meeting at G20 between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, later this week.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s comments eased concern over the trade impasse with China to some extent.

Besides, traders said, gains in domestic equities, foreign fund inflows and latest news on monsoon progress also helped in reviving domestic currency market sentiment.

However, rising crude oil prices and strengthening of the US dollar vis-a-vis other major currencies overseas capped the gains for the rupee.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.38 per cent to USD 65.95 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.11 per cent to 96.24.

Meanwhile, Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 69.3398 and for rupee/euro at 79.0525. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 88.4161 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 64.81.

V K Sharma, Head-PCG & Capital Market Strategy, HDFC securities, said, “For last two days, overseas investors have been pouring money in domestic equity and debt markets also helped rupee to remain strong during Wednesday’s trade.”

“Statement released by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saying that ‘US-China trade deal is 90 per cent complete’, has improved the sentiment in emerging market currencies,” he said.

Meanwhile, the 10-year government bond yield was at 6.93 per cent on Wednesday.   

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 1,157.87 crore Tuesday, provisional data showed.

On domestic bourses, the BSE benchmark Sensex settled 157.14 points, or 0.40 per cent, higher at 39,592.08. The broader NSE Nifty too rose 51.10 points, or 0.43 per cent, to finish at 11,847.55.