Rupee gains 26 paise to 82.61 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee gained 26 paise to close at 82.61 against the US dollar in the last trading session of 2022, as the American currency retreated from its elevated levels and a rising appetite for riskier assets among investors. The rupee, however, ended the year on a negative note, with a loss of 844 paise or 11.36 per cent, primarily led by a strong dollar against its major crosses overseas.

The US dollar climbed in the overseas market as the Fed raised rates aggressively following surging inflation.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.77 and touched an intra-day high of 82.70 and a low of 82.82 against the greenback. It finally settled at 82.61, registering a rise of 26 paise over its previous close of 82.87. On December 31, 2021, the rupee settled at 74.29 against the US dollar.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 293.14 points or 0.48 per cent to end at 60,840.74, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 85.70 points or 0.47 per cent to 18,105.30.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.02 per cent to 103.85.

Equity investors became richer by more than Rs 16.38 lakh crore this year as the equity market scaled new highs despite persistent geopolitical uncertainties and inflation worries.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 293.14 points or 0.48 per cent to settle at 60,840.74 on Friday. During the day, it had risen by 258.8 points or 0.42 per cent to a high of 61,392.68.

The broader NSE Nifty declined 85.70 points or 0.47 per cent to end at 18,105.30.

The BSE barometer closed 2022 with a 4.44 per cent gain or 2,586.92 points while the Nifty ended the year higher by 4.32 per cent or 751.25 points.

Sensex touched its all-time high of 63,583.07 points on December 1 after hitting its 52-week low of 50,921.22 points on June 17.