Rupee rises 35 paise against US dollar in early trade

Team Udayavani, Nov 9, 2018, 10:41 AM IST

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 35 paise to 72.65 against the dollar in early trade on Friday, following US mid-term election results and easing crude oil prices.

Forex traders said the rise was also supported by dollar-selling by exporters and banks and the US unit’s weakness against some currencies overseas.

They said the US mid-term election results which showed Democrats wresting the House of Representatives from the ruling Republican party, also supported the rupee.

The Democrats now have majority in the 435-member House, while Trump’s party has retained majority in the 100-member Senate.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened strong at 72.68 and advanced further to trade at 72.65, reflecting a rise of 35 paise over its previous close of 73 against the dollar.

Moreover easing crude prices also helped the local unit. Brent crude, the international benchmark was trading at USD 70.70 per barrel.

The rupee had rebounded by 12 paise to end at 73 per US dollar Tuesday on increased selling of the greenback by exporters and softening crude oil prices.

The forex market was closed on Wednesday and Thursday on account of ‘Diwali’ and ‘Diwali Balipratipada’ respectively. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), which had been selling on Indian bourses, made fresh purchases worth Rs 31.02 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex opened on a higher note up 20.45 points at 35,258.13 in early trade.