Rupee Declines 20 Paise To Settle At 73.31 Against Dollar

The rupee slipped 20 paise against the US dollar on Thursday, January 7, to settle at 73.31 (provisional), tracking muted domestic equities and a rebound in the American currency. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened flat at 73.10 against the dollar. It registered an intra-day high of 73.08 during the session and dived to a low of 73.31. The domestic unit settled at 73.31, down 20 paise against its previous close. On Wednesday, January 6, the rupee had settled at 73.11 against the greenback. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.26 per cent to 89.75.

”After the Democratic win in Senate Run-Offs and a near-certain confirmation of Biden as president dollar weakness should continue as more stimulus of around $ 600 billion is expected along with stimulus checks of $ 2000. The Democratic priority should be vaccination, revival of economy and jobs. Rupee should open around 73.10 and is expected to move in a range of 73.00 to 73.30 for the day. Inflows should continue while RBI would keep fighting the inflows by buying dollars to ensure 73 is well protected,” said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head- Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 80.74 points or 0.17 per cent lower at 48,093.32, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 8.90 points or 0.06 per cent to 14,137.35. ”Indian equity benchmark indices closed with mild losses on January 7 for the second consecutive session. Nifty opened gap up in line with other Asian markets but gradually eroded through the day to end marginally in the negative. In the process it was one of the worst-performing indices in the Asian region. At close, Nifty closed 9 points, or 0.1 percent, down at 14,137.35.” said Mr. Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.