The rupee gained against the US dollar by 15 paise to end the day at 82.45 (provisional), as investor sentiment was boosted by an upward trend in domestic equities and lowering inflationary pressures. Additionally, the domestic unit was helped by a weaker greenback to its main rivals abroad and falling crude oil prices, according to Forex traders.
The local unit at the interbank foreign exchange market opened flat at 82.60 against the greenback, with an intra-day high of 82.40 and a low of 82.71. It eventually closed at 82.45 against the US dollar, up 15 paise from its previous close of 82.60.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six different currencies, fell 0.28% to 103.69.
The BSE Sensex closed 144.61 points or 0.23 percent higher at 62,677.91 on the local equity market, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 52.30 points or 0.28 percent to 18,660.30.
The international oil benchmark, Brent crude futures, fell 0.26% to USD 80.47 a barrel.
The US Federal Reserve may be less hawkish in raising interest rates after the US inflation rate for November was reported at 7.1% annually compared to an increase of 7.7% in October.
The Fed is generally anticipated to increase its benchmark rate by 0.50 percentage points.
Retail inflation in India fell below the RBI’s upper tolerance level of 6% in November for the first time in 11 months as a result of falling food costs, but the central bank may wait for further information before halting interest rate increases.
