Rupee gains 3 paise to close at 82.44 against dollar on positive equities

The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled 3 paise higher at 82.44 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, supported by positive domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 82.34 and touched an intra-day high of 82.26 and a low of 82.47 against the greenback.

It finally settled at 82.44, registering a rise of 3 paise over its previous close of 82.47.

"Rupee consolidated in a narrow range even after the RBI raised rates by another 35 bps. It lowered its FY23 GDP forecast to 6.8 per cent from 7 per cent," said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

"We expect the USD-INR (Spot) to trade sideways and quote in the range of 82.20 and 82.80," he added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.29 per cent to 105.40.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.63 per cent to USD 77.66 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 160.00 points or 0.26 per cent to end at 62,570.68, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 48.85 points or 0.26 per cent to 18,609.35.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,241.87 crore, according to exchange data.