Rupee rises 4 paise against US dollar

Rrupee appreciated by 4 paise to close at 82.47 against the US dollar on Friday amid a weak sentiment in domestic equities.

Forex traders said a strong dollar overseas and fresh foreign capital outflows capped the gains in the domestic currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.49 against the dollar and finally settled at 82.47, up 4 paise from its previous close.

During the session, it touched a peak of 82.41 and a low of 82.50 against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 82.51 against the dollar.

''The rupee traded within a narrow range of 82.41-82.52 as market participants awaited the upcoming US interest rate decision.

''The currency is expected to maintain its sideways trend between the range of 82.30-82.65. The volatile range in crude prices has played a role in keeping the rupee within its range. Additionally, the weakness in the dollar index has provided some support to the rupee, keeping it above the key level of 82.50,'' said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities.

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday opted to pause for the second time in a row, maintaining the key benchmark policy rate at 6.5 per cent citing moderate inflation.

According to experts, the RBI's monetary policy decision on Thursday to maintain a pause on interest rates came on expected lines, which boosted the overall sentiment.

Meanwhile, investors' concern over the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision to be announced next week kept the dollar in a narrow range.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.19 per cent to 103.54.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.38 per cent to USD 76.25 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 223.01 points or 0.35 per cent lower at 62,625.63 points. The broader NSE Nifty declined 71.15 points or 0.38 per cent to 18,563.40 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Friday as they sold shares worth Rs 308.97 crore, according to exchange data.