The rupee gained 21 paise to 81.97 in early trade on Thursday against the US dollar. It settled at 82.18 against the USD on Wednesday.
The dollar index — which measures the American currency against the yen, the pound, the Canadian dollar, the Swedish krona, the Swiss franc and the euro — was last trading at 100.195.
Crude oil benchmarks were trading higher today. At the last count, Brent crude futures were trading 0.27 percent up at $80.33 per barrel, while WTI futures were trading 0.25 percent higher as well at $75.94 per barrel.
"The US Dollar faced significant pressure following lower-than-expected inflation data, leading to a substantial rally in emerging market currencies. US inflation dropped to 3.0% year-on-year, down from the previous figure of 4 percent," said Amit Pabari, the managing director of CR Forex Advisors.
He said the rupee also benefited from significant foreign capital inflows, as recent data revealed that international investors purchased Indian stocks amounting to $6.7 billion in June and $2 billion in July. "In the coming days, it is projected that the USD-INR currency pair will likely trade within the range of 81.80-82.70, This expectation is based on the presence of inflows on one side, while the demand for dollars from importers is anticipated to limit any significant decline in the exchange rate. RBI’s intervention around 81.80 will be watched if it allows the pair to break below the same," Pabari added.
Both Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, were trading in the green around 11.20am today, July 13, 2023.
