Rupee settles 8 paise higher at 75.54; govt's reopening plan for domestic economy boosts investors sentiment

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 8 paise to provisionally close at 75.54 against the US dollar on Monday supported by optimism over the government’s reopening plan for the domestic economy. Forex traders said foreign fund inflows, weak American currency and positive domestic equities also boosted investor confidence. The rupee opened at 75.32 at the interbank forex market, pared some gains, and finally settled at 75.54 against the US dollar, up 8 paise over its last close.

#Rupee ends mildly stronger compared to Friday's close pic.twitter.com/N15sHslNph

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It had settled at 75.62 against the US dollar on Friday. During the day, the local unit witnessed an intra-day high of 75.29 and a low of 75.60. The government on Saturday said a phased exit would begin on 1 June from the over-two-months-long nationwide lockdown. Announcing the new guidelines, the home ministry said a complete lockdown would continue till June 30 in areas identified as COVID-19 containment zones across the country, but restrictions would be lifted in a phased manner at other places after the ongoing fourth phase. Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak On the equities front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was quoting 957.09 points higher at 33,381.19 and broader Nifty rose 244.75 points to 9,825.05. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market, as they bought equity shares worth Rs 1,460.71 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.69 percent to $38.10 per barrel. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell by 0.37 percent to 97.98.