Rupee rises 23 paise to 88.50 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 23 paise to settle at 88.50 against the US dollar on Tuesday, amid progress on the US shutdown bill and optimism over the US-India trade deal.

Forex traders said a rebound in domestic equities and optimism over a nearing US trade deal supported the local unit.

However, elevated crude oil prices and foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 88.69 against the American currency, touched an intraday high of 88.50 and a low of 88.72 during the session.

The domestic unit finally settled for the day at 88.50, higher by 23 paise from its previous close.

“The rupee gained on Tuesday, on a rise in risk appetite in global markets and a weak dollar,” Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said, adding that expectations of the end of the US government shutdown boosted global market sentiments.

Choudhary further noted that the rupee is expected to trade with a slight positive bias on rising global markets and weakness in the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.03 per cent

to 99.61. PTI