Rupee jumps to 3-week high of 75.03 against USD

Mumbai:  Continuing its winning streak for the seventh straight session, the rupee on Friday rose by 23 paise to a three-week high of 75.03 against the US dollar as risk appetite improved in view of broader weakness in the greenback.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 75.12 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 75.00 and a low of 75.20.

Over the past seven sessions, the domestic currency has gained 129 paise against the greenback.

In the absence of fresh global cues, the rupee gained every single day of the week and recovered the ground it lost during the start of the month, Dilip Parmar- Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said.

The local currency marked the seventh gaining streak, up almost 1.5 per cent, last time such a move was seen in December 2019, when it gained 1 per cent in eight trading sessions, Parmar said.

According to Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, the Indian rupee appreciated against the US Dollar on Friday and was strong for the week as foreign banks sold the greenback on behalf of exporters and broader dollar weakness.

According to a new analysis by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) released on Thursday, Omicron is less severe than the Delta variant.

The findings coincide with two other studies based on real-world COVID-19 UK data, which also report that the Omicron variant is less severe than the Delta variant, with fewer infected people requiring hospitalisation.

Forex traders said ahead of the holidays and extended long weekend in the United States, most major currency pairs are trading in narrow ranges.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against the basket of six currencies, fell 0.06 per cent to 96.01.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.16 per cent to USD 75.96 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 271.59 crore, as per exchange data.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 190.97 points or 0.33 per cent lower at 57,124.31, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 68.85 points or 0.4 per cent to 17,003.75.