Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 24 paise to close at 86.81 against the US dollar on Monday on positive domestic equities and weakness of the American currency in the overseas market.
Forex traders said the rupee traded with a slight positive bias on weakness in the US dollar and positive global markets. However, surge in crude oil prices capped sharp gains for the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 86.90 then touched an intraday high of 86.76 and a low of 86.90 against the greenback.
The unit ended the session at 86.81 against the dollar, registering a gain of 24 paise from its previous closing level.
On Thursday, the rupee surged 17 paise to settle at 87.05 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11 per cent lower at 103.60.
Meanwhile, the country’s foreign exchange reserves increased $15.267 billion to $653.966 billion during the week ended March 7, according to the RBI. The overall reserves had dropped by $1.781 billion to $638.698 billion in the previous week.