Rupee darts up 19 paise to 82.21 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee rebounded from its all-time low to close 19 paise higher at 82.21 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid softening crude oil prices.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 82.35 against the greenback. It witnessed a high of 82.21 and a low of 82.41 during the session.

It finally ended at 82.21, up 19 paise from its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee had slipped 10 paise to finish at a fresh lifetime low of 82.40.

“Rupee traded in a narrow range after hitting fresh all-time lows against the US dollar. Dollar has been gaining momentum in the past few sessions following better-than-expected non farm payrolls numbers from the US,” said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Safe haven buying also led to an upmove in the dollar after Russia rained cruise missiles on busy Ukrainian cities on Monday. On the domestic front, the inflation number will be important to watch which will be released on Wednesday.

“We expect the USD-INR (Spot) to quote in the range of 82.20 and 82.80,” Somaiya added.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.03 per cent to 113.18.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 2.30 per cent to USD 93.98 per barrel.

The BSE Sensex ended 843.79 points or 1.46 per cent down at 57,147.32, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 257.45 points or 1.49 per cent to 16,983.55.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,612.67 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

“Rupee traded strong as dollar traded muted near USD 113 and Crude prices retreated after China reported increased COVID cases…mixed statements from the US Fed members’ speech for slow growth hinted at demand concerns on oil,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities.