Rupee spurts 24 paise to 71.50 against US dollar

The Indian rupee on Tuesday appreciated by 24 paise to close at 71.50 against the US dollar, buoyed by persistent foreign fund inflows and hopes about US-China trade logjam breakthrough.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened stronger at 71.67 a dollar. During the session, the rupee traded in the range of 71.49 and 71.68, before settling at 71.50 - showing a gain of 24 paise over its previous close.

In a fillip to forex markets, foreign investors continued with their bullish outlook and bought equities worth Rs 960.90 crore, provisional data available with stocks exchanges on Monday said.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.01 per cent to 98.31.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.05 per cent to USD 63.68 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the 10-year government bond yield was at 6.48 per cent on Monday.