May 21 (Punjab Khabarnama) : The rupee closed at 83.31 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, strengthening by six paise against the US dollar due to the weakness of the dollar against the major currencies of the world and softening of crude oil prices in the international markets. Market sources said that, however, a slowdown in the domestic stock market curbed the sharp gains. In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened strong at 83.32 per dollar and touched a high of 83.26 per dollar and a low of 83.36 per dollar during the session.
Finally, it closed at 83.31 per dollar (provisional), up six paise from its previous close. The rupee had closed at 83.37 per dollar in the last trading session on Friday. The foreign exchange market was closed on Monday in view of the general election. BNP Paribas Buy Sharekhan research analyst Anuj Chaudhary said, “The drop in crude oil prices and fresh foreign inflows also supported the rupee. Expectations of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut weakened the US dollar. But aggressive comments from Federal Reserve officials supported the US dollar at lower levels.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed down 52.63 points at 73,953.31. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the US dollar’s strength against six major currencies, fell 0.07 percent to 104.38. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $82.90 a barrel, down 0.97 percent. According to stock market data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained bearish in the capital market and sold shares worth a net amount of Rs 92.95 crore in the last trading session.
