Rupee Slips 3 Paise Against US Dollar

The Indian rupee on Monday slipped 3 paise to close at 71.74 against the US dollar due to fag-end dollar buying by banks and importers. Rising crude prices and strengthening dollar overseas also weighed on the rupee sentiment, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, after positive opening at 71.68, the rupee pared all its gains to slip in negative territory against the dollar.

The domestic unit touched the day’s high of 71.61 against the greenback during the session. It finally settled flat at 71.74, registering a loss of 3 paise against its previous close. In the equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 529.82 points, or 1.31 per cent, higher at 40,889.23.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty settled just shy of its life-time closing high, up 159.35 points, or 1.34 per cent, at 12,073.75. Foreign investors bought equities worth Rs 305.72 crore on Friday, as per provisional data available with stocks exchanges.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.01 per cent to 98.27. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.02 per cent to trade at USD 63.40 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the 10-year government bond yield was at 6.47 per cent on Monday.