Rupee rises by 14 paise to close at nearly 1 month high against $US

Mumbai: The rupee rose by 14 paise to close a nearly one-month high of 73.95 against the US dollar on Monday following losses in the American currency in the global markets.

A fall in crude oil prices and positive economic data helped the local unit pare early losses.

The rupee had opened lower at 74.25 and hit the day's low of 74.33 later in line with early losses in the domestic equities.

The local unit, however, pared its losses in afternoon trade on the back of dollar sale by exporters, positive manufacturing data and a recovery in stock indices.

The rupee touched a high of 73.90 before closing at 73.95, the highest closing level since April 6.

"Rupee started the month on positive note amid lower dollar and recovery in domestic equities," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

The rupee became the best-performing unit among Asian currencies on Monday. Sentiment turned positive for rupee and equity markets after better-than-expected April manufacturing PMI activities, Parmar said.

According to Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, the rupee appreciated against the US currency on Monday, as exporters' dollar sales as well as inflows outweighed the impact of weak Asian cues.

The unit had fallen to an intra-day low of 74.33 earlier in the session on rising COVID-19 cases in the country that could hamper the country's growth outlook.