Rupee Gains Higher To Settle At 72.75 Against Dollar Ahead Of Consumer Inflation Data

Rupee Vs Dollar Today: The rupee gained 12 paise against the US dollar on Friday, February 12,  to settle at 72.75 (provisional), ahead of the release of key macro-economic data -- consumer inflation and industrial production, amid sustained foreign capital inflows. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic unit opened at 72.79 against the dollar and registered an intra-day high of 72.75. It registered a low of 72.83. The local unit closed at 72.75 against the American currency, registering a rise of 12 paise from its previous close. On Thursday, February 11, the domestic unit finished at 72.87.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.20 per cent to 90.60. The rupee witnessed a volatile session throughout the week amid changing trends in domestic equities. It declined marginally to close at 72.87 on Thursday and settled on a flat note on Wednesday. While on Tuesday, it gained marginally even as domestic equities restricted gains. 

"Rupee gained strength amid softening of crude oil prices and steady FII inflows. Additionally, expectation of improved macro-economic data supported Rupee," said Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas. "CPI data is likely to show that inflation eased and remained under RBI target range of 2-6 per cent in January 2020. However, sharp gains were prevented on strong Dollar. Rupee may trade in the range of 72.50 to 73.20 in next couple of sessions," he added.

According to forex traders, the market participants will be keeping an eye on inflation and industrial production numbers and better-than-estimate numbers could extend gains for the currency. 

''Good risk appetite coupled with inflows into local stocks will help Indian Rupee to appreciate, but likely RBI intervention at around 75.70-72.60 zone may limit the fall in USDINR pair. We expect USDINR Spot to trade sideways with negative with 72.65/72.50 being key support zone below which next support is at 72.30. On the upside, 73.0-73.15-73.25 will act as the crucial resistance levels,'' said Rahul Gupta, Head Of Research-Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 12.78 points or 0.02 per cent higher at 51,544.30, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 10 points or 0.07 per cent to 15,163.30. 

''After the significant gains made after the union budget, the markets could experience some consolidation in coming days. Majorly, the uptrend of the market can remain positive for small and mid- caps. The global consumer sentiment would play an important role in evaluating the short-term trend which is not certain because of the weakness of the European market,'' said Likhita Chepa, Senior Research Analyst at CapitalVia Global Research Limited.

''The market recorded a choppy session during the week. The Sensex failed to move beyond 51850 and refused to close below 51300 levels. However, during the week we saw maximum activity in medium-sized and small-sized companies that could hurt the market if they failed to break the 51850 levels,'' said Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities. 

''The dollar index fell to 90.40 from 91.40 levels and crude prices have started to cool off from highs. In the coming week, the focus should again be on infra, cement, CV, and technology companies,'' he added.

According to exchange data, the foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 944.36 crore on February 11. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.64 per cent to $ 60.75 per barrel.