Rupee surges by 62 paise to settle at 76.06 against US dollar

The rupee soared by 62 paise to settle at 76.06 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday tracking gains in domestic equities and strength in Asian currencies.

Forex traders said investor sentiment strengthened after the RBI said it would undertake additional purchase of government securities through open market operations (OMO).

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened higher at 76.31 rose further to the day's high pf 76.00. The rupee finally settled at 76.06 against the US dollar, registering a rise of 62 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, rupee had settled at 76.68 against the US dollar.

"On a review of current and evolving liquidity and market conditions, the Reserve Bank has decided to conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for Rs 10,000 crores each on April 27, 2020," the Reserve Bank said in a release.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against the basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08 per cent up at 100.46.

Meanwhile, domestic bourses were trading on a positive note on Thursday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 463.86 points higher at 31,843.41 and Nifty up by 127.75 points at 9,315.05.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 1,326.09 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 6.92 per cent to USD 21.78 per barrel.