Rupee surges 12 paise to 74.33 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee surged 12 paise to 74.33 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday as a firm trend in domestic equities and easing crude oil prices boosted investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 74.38 against the dollar and gained further ground to 74.33 in early deals, a rise of 12 paise over its previous close. On Friday, the rupee had settled at 74.45 against the US dollar. According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors, as the dollar index rises and oil prices fall, rupee is likely to move within a range of 74.20 to 74.60 for the day. “With three listings on Wednesday, outflow could be seen particularly that of Paytm… India CPI came a tad higher at 4.48 percent while IIP came a bit lower at 3.1 percent. Oil prices have fallen to 81.50 while dollar index has risen to 95.10,” Bhansali said, adding that exporters can take a call to sell at 74.55 while importers may buy near to 74.20. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.12 percent to 95.01. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.82 percent to USD 81.50 per barrel. On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 144.4 points or 0.24 percent higher at 60,831.09, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 27.75 points or 0.15 percent to 18,130.50. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Friday as they purchased shares worth Rs 511.10 crore, as per exchange data.