Rupee inches 1 paisa higher to close at 74.19 against US dollar

The rupee inched 1 paisa higher to settle almost flat at 74.19 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday amid firm crude oil prices and a muted trend in the domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 74.24 per dollar as against its previous close of 74.20.

It hovered in the range of 74.18 to 74.27 during the day before ending at 74.19 against the greenback.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.10 per cent to 91.76.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 189.45 points or 0.36 per cent lower at 52,735.59, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 45.65 points or 0.29 per cent to 15,814.70.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.07 per cent to USD 76.23 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 678.84 crore, as per exchange data.