Rupee recovers from all-time low of 76.88; closes 15 paise higher at 76.68 on gains in domestic equities

Mumbai: The rupee on Wednesday recovered from record low levels to settle higher by 15 paise at 76.68 (provisional) against the US dollar following gains in domestic stocks and some weakness in the greenback against global currencies. The rupee opened weak at 76.86 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to an all-time low of 76.88 during the day. Later, the domestic unit recovered the lost ground in line with surging stock markets and finally settled at 76.68, higher by 15 paise over its last close of 76.83 against the US dollar. [caption id=“attachment_6004721” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Indian stocks were trading higher with the benchmark index Sensex rising by 2.5 percent or 768 points in the closing session. The US dollar also lost some ground against the euro and the pound in European trade, which strengthened the rupee. Brent crude dropped 8 percent to $17.78 per barrel while oil for Indian basket also eased by 0.68 percent to $20.42 per barrel which supported the local currency. “USD/INR spot breached fresh record high of 76.90, however, it didn’t sustain and fell on dollar selling ahead of the Facebook and Reliance deal. Facebook plans to invest nearly $5.7 billion, the money will hit the forex market in tranches either end of this month or sometime next month,” Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services said. Gupta, however, noted that the global market is still risk-averse amid the coronavirus pandemic. “This gloominess regarding the deep economic downturn may weigh on the Indian rupee, thus, unless 76.50 and 76 doesn’t break on the immediate basis we expect USD/INR spot to trade towards 77 and beyond levels,” Gupta said. The number of cases around the world linked to the new coronavirus has crossed over 25.51 lakh. In India, nearly 20,000 coronavirus cases have been reported so far. “If coronavirus cases continue to increase on the global and local front then we can expect the spot to breach 77.50 and then 78 level,” Gupta said.