Rupee appreciates 7 paise to settle at 82.83 against US dollar

The rupee appreciated 7 paise to settle at 82.83 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, buoyed by a weak American currency against major rivals overseas and a rally in domestic equities.

However, surging crude oil prices in international markets put pressure on the local currency and restricted the rise, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.90 and oscillated between a peak of 82.82 and the lowest level of 82.91 against the greenback in intra-day deals. The currency finally settled at 82.83 (provisional), registering a gain of 7 paise from its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee settled flat at 82.90 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, declined by 0.19 per cent to 103.55.

Analysts attributed the downward movement in the dollar index to the services PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) data in the US, which showed the sector's growth in February fell short of expectations.

Market participants were also awaiting cues from non-farm payroll data in the US and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony at the US Congress about the central bank's monetary policy moves.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.77 per cent to $82.67 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex surged 408.86 points, or 0.55 per cent, to settle at its new lifetime peak of 74,085.99. The Nifty soared 117.75 points, or 0.53 per cent, to close at the highest level of 22,474.05.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they bought shares worth Rs 574.28 crore, according to exchange data.

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