Rupee gains 19 paise to close at 79.71 against US dollar

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee ended 19 paise higher on Thursday due to easing Brent crude oil price in the international market and inflows of foreign investors, dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, rupee ended at 79.71, as against its 79.90 close on the previous trading session, against the US dollar.

"USDINR spot closed 20 paise lower due to risk on mood in equity markets. The rupee continues to be an outperformer, aided by lower oil prices and FPI inflows. RBI remains an aggressive seller near 80 handle. Global backdrop is conducive for USD strength but that would play out by way of limiting the gains in rupee, rather than pushing it below 80 against USD.

"Therefore, we could see more rangebound and low volatility price action over the near term. Range: 79.30 and 80.10 on spot," said Anindya Banerjee, VP, currency derivatives and interest rate derivatives, at Kotak Securities Ltd.

"Going ahead, the rupee trend broadly is still weak as long as prices are below 79.45. The rupee range can be seen between 79.50-80.00," said Jateen Trivedi, research analyst at LKP Securities.

The dollar index, which gauges the the strength of greenback against the basket of six major currencies, was at 109.500.

On Wednesday, Brent crude oil price in the international market fell sharply on worries of a global economic recession and lower fuel demand.

Oil's deep loss on Wednesday came despite several supportive market factors. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country would not supply energy to any nations that backed a planned US-led price cap on the nation's crude. In addition, the Energy Information Administration raised its outlook for global oil demand, while also cutting the forecast for US supply.

Brent crude oil price was at $88.21 a barrel by the closing of Indian market hours.

Meanwhile, Sensex ended 659.31 points or 1.82 per cent up at 59,688.22 on Wednesday, while Nifty closed 174.35 points or 0.99 per cent up at 17,798.75.