Rupee jumps 79 paise to end at 88 mark amid slide in dollar, oil prices

Indian Rupee today: The domestic currency closed 79 paise higher at 88.00 against the greenback on Wednesday

The Indian Rupee advanced on Wednesday and rose to the 88 mark, breaking out of the tight range, amid a decline in the dollar index and crude oil prices. 

 

The domestic currency closed 79 paise higher at 88.00 against the greenback on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. The currency rose to the 87.96 level in the morning deals, but is still down 3.17 per cent so far this year, the worst-performing Asian currency.  

Rupee witnessed a sharp uptick, as likely Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervention helped avert a fall to historical lows ahead of the Diwali festivities, Jateen Trivedi, VP research analyst - commodity and currency, LKP Securities, said. "The central bank is expected to continue its intervention around current levels, which could keep rupee weakness limited to the 88.50-88.85 range in the short term."  

 

Resistance for the rupee is seen near 87.75, where the RBI is less likely to step in, Trivedi said. "The upcoming release of the RBI meeting minutes will be closely watched for further policy insights and the central bank’s stance on currency stability."

 

"The RBI has been defending the 88.80 level for several sessions, and despite foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) inflows in recent days, the rupee has weakened, with the central bank being the only significant dollar seller," Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said earlier. 

 

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-linked inflation cooled to 0.13 per cent in September from 0.52 per cent in August. The positive rate of inflation in September was primarily due to an increase in prices of food products, manufacturing, non-food articles, non-metallic mineral products, textiles, and transport equipment. India’s retail inflation moderated significantly in September to hit a 99-month low of 1.54 per cent. 

  

The dollar index fell from the previous session as the market anticipated concerns over US-China trade tensions amid the US government shutdown. The measure of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies was down 0.22 per cent at 98.83.

 

In commodities, crude oil prices extended their fall as the US shutdown continues into the third week. Brent crude price was lower by 0.19 per cent at 62.27 per barrel, while WTI crude prices were lower by 0.12 per cent at 58.63 per barrel, as of 3:35 PM IST.