Rupee rose 12 paise to 85.42 against the greenback in early trade, buoyed by strong FII inflows and a weaker dollar index.
However, widening of trade deficit, a weaker start in the domestic equity markets and a rise in Brent crude prices capped further gains in the local unit, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 85.28 against the US dollar before dropping to 85.42, higher by 12 paise from its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 22 paise to close at 85.54 against the greenback.
“Rupee is expected in a narrow band of 85.25-75 with exporters expected to sell the upticks and importers to wait for medium term hedging… RBI may have been present yesterday (Thursday) at 85.75 levels,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
In the domestic equity market, Sensex declined 252.97 points to 82,277.77 in early trade, while the Nifty dropped 67.6 points to 24,994.50.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.24 per cent at 100.641.
“The dollar index fell to 100.64 as the US 10-year yield fell to 4.4260 per cent after downside surprises from US data this week cemented bets that the FED will cut rates more than three times this year. The US-China trade truce took the dollar index higher but the euphoria fizzled out soon and left the dollar index down,” Bhansali added.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.14 per cent to 64.62 per barrel in futures trade.
India’s exports rose 9.03 per cent to $38.49 billion in April on Thursday — the highest in six months — driven by healthy growth in sectors such as electronics and engineering goods. However, the trade deficit widened to a five-month high of $26.42 billion as imports rose 19.12 per cent year-on-year to $64.91 billion in April due to a rise in shipments of crude oil and fertiliser.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹5,392.94 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.
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Published on May 16, 2025
