Mumbai: The rupee advanced by 9 paise to settle at 73.55 against the US dollar on Monday, buoyed by sustained foreign fund inflows.
Besides, upbeat industrial production data and weakening of the American currency in the overseas market also supported the rupee, traders said.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.62 against the US dollar, then gained further ground and touched an intra-day high of 73.48. The local unit finally closed at 73.55, registering a rise of 9 paise over its previous close.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading down 0.45 per cent at 90.56.
“Rupee rose marginally after consolidating in the last couple of sessions as domestic equities continued to rally. FIIs have been net buyers in the month of December and that is supporting the rupee, but at the same time, RBI is intervening actively to keep the currency stable,” said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Somaiya further noted that market participants will be keeping an eye on the inflation number and an uptick is likely to trim expectation of aggressive rate cut by the RBI.
Meanwhile, official data, released post-market hours, showed that retail inflation declined to 6.93 per cent in November on softer food prices, though it remained above the comfort level of the RBI.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,264.38 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 154.45 points or 0.34 per cent higher at 46,253.46, while the broader NSE Nifty jumped 44.30 points or 0.33 per cent to 13,558.15.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.04 per cent to USD 50.49 per barrel.
The country’s index of industrial production (IIP) grew 3.6 per cent in the month of October, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI)