Rupee maintains form, spurts 15 paise to 69.22 vs dollar on sliding oil prices

Rising for the fourth straight session, the rupee strengthened by 15 paise to close at 69.22 against the US dollar Friday, bolstered by easing crude oil prices.

However, fresh foreign fund outflows and subdued sentiment at the domestic equity markets capped the gains, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic unit opened flat at 69.38 and advanced to a high of 69.20 during the day. It finally settled at 69.22, showing a rise of 15 paise over its previous close.

During the week, the rupee climbed 80 paise. This is the second consecutive week of gain for the domestic currency.

"The Indian rupee has appreciated more than a percent in the last week...Indian rupee is the best performing emerging market currency in last five days," said Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.27 per cent to USD 70.56 per barrel.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out Rs 400.68 crore on a net basis Friday, provisional data showed.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.16 per cent to 97.99.

Market benchmarks surrendered early gains to end with modest losses Friday. After trading on a positive note through the day, the BSE Sensex ended 18.17 points, or 0.05 per cent, lower at 38,963.26. In similar movement, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 12.50 points, or 0.11 per cent, to close at 11,712.25.

Meanwhile, the Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 69.2679 and for rupee/euro at 77.3390. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 90.2404 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 62.13.