Currency watch: Rupee rises 7 paise to 88.72 against dollar; domestic markets and crude oil support gains

The rupee strengthened by 7 paise to close at 88.72 against the US dollar on Friday, buoyed by positive domestic market trends and a broad decline in crude oil prices, PTI reported. Forex traders said the central bank’s intervention also provided support, although a firm US dollar capped sharper gains.The rupee opened at 88.80 and traded in a range of 88.50-88.80 before settling at 88.72, compared with Thursday’s close of 88.79. “We expect the rupee to trade with a positive bias on strength in the domestic markets and broad weakness in crude oil prices. The US government shutdown and rising chances of a Federal Reserve rate cut may further bolster the rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Currency and Commodities, Mirae Asset ShareKhan. He added that importer demand and a strong US dollar could limit upside, with the USD-INR expected to trade between 88.40 and 88.85.Brent crude was trading lower by 0.61 per cent at $64.85 per barrel in futures trading, while the dollar index fell 0.21 per cent to 99.32. Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, said the rupee gained due to foreign inflows into domestic equities and retreat in crude oil prices, noting technical support at 88.50 and resistance at 88.85 for the USD-INR spot pair.Domestic equities mirrored the positive sentiment, with the Sensex rising 328.72 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 82,500.82, and the Nifty climbing 103.55 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 25,285.35. Foreign Institutional Investors were net buyers, acquiring equities worth Rs 459.20 crore on Friday.According to RBI data, India’s forex reserves fell by $276 million to $699.96 billion for the week ended October 3, following a drop of $2.334 billion in the previous week.