Rupee Rises 23 Paise To 96.65 Against US Dollar As Crude Prices Ease

The Indian rupee appreciated by 23 paise to 96.65 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, supported by a slight weakening of the US currency, lower crude oil prices and suspected intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 96.74 against the dollar before strengthening to 96.65, compared with Thursday’s closing level of 96.88.

The domestic currency gained as the dollar index eased towards 102 and Brent crude prices fell to around $103 per barrel.

The developments followed US President Donald Trump’s remarks that an attack on Iran would not take place before the US midterm elections.

Market experts attributed the dollar’s weakness partly to falling US Treasury yields after a well-received 30-year bond auction, which indicated continued investor demand for long-term government debt.

Lower oil prices eased inflation concerns amid reports of productive discussions between Washington and Tehran.

Markets assigned an 82 per cent probability to the US Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged this month, while the likelihood of a rate hike in December stood at around 81 per cent, according to market estimates.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said further rate increases would likely be necessary to bring inflation back to the central bank’s 2 per cent target. He stressed that policymakers retained flexibility over the pace of monetary tightening.

The rupee fell 13 paise to 96.88 against the dollar on Thursday.

On Friday, the Sensex rose 183 points, and the Nifty gained 83 points at the open, supported by IT stocks.

FIIs sold ₹12,943 crore in equities on Thursday, while DIIs bought ₹10,703 crore. FII sales have reached ₹36,210 crore so far in October.

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