Re rises 20p to close at 79.85 vs US dollar
New Delhi, July 21
The rupee recovered from its all-time low of 80.06 to close 20 paise higher at 79.85 against the US dollar on Thursday due to weakness in crude oil prices and fresh foreign fund inflows. It opened lower at 80.03 against the greenback and fell further to an intra-day low of 80.06. It recouped losses later and settled at 79.85 (provisional), registering a rise of 20 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee for the first time had slid below the 80-mark against the dollar due to strong dollar demand from importers and fiscal slippage concerns. The dollar index was down 0.04% at 107.03 as was Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, which fell 4.46% to $102.15 per barrel.
“After the past four days’ underperformance, Indian rupee becomes the second best-performing currency among Asian currencies on probable dollar selling by state banks on behalf of central banks and mild foreign fund inflows,” said Dilip Parmar of HDFC Securities.
