The rupee on Friday staged a turnaround to close higher by 26 paise at 71.73 against the US dollar, snapping its seven-session losing streak after heavy intervention by the Reserve Bank.

Weighed down by trade concerns and rising crude prices, the Indian currency breached the 72 mark to trade at 72.04 to the dollar in morning trade.

However, heavy intervention by the RBI predominantly resisted the rupee’s sharp depreciation and helped it rebound from record low levels.

The rupee resumed higher at 71.95 from overnight level of 71.99 at the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market on bouts of dollar selling by state-run banks.

However, intense volatility pushed the rupee to break the 72-mark to hit a low of 72.04 on an intraday basis.

But, the local unit quickly bounced back to trade in positive terrain following central bank intervention. It later touched a session high of 71.65 before ending at 71.73, revealing a gain of 26 paise, or 0.36 per cent.

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