Rupee jumps 33 paise to end at 83.00 against US dollar; posts best day in over 8 months

The Indian rupee jumped 33 paise against the US dollar on Friday, posting its biggest single-day gain in more than eight months amid heavy dollar inflows and a sharp rally in domestic equity markets to fresh record highs. 

The local currency ended at 83.00 a dollar, up 0.4% on the day, as compared to its previous close of 83.33, registering its best single-day performance since April 5.

For the week, the local unit rose 0.4%, its biggest weekly gain since August 25.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, recovered from four-month low and traded 0.09% higher at 102.05.

Dollar sales from large foreign banks, likely on behalf of custodian clients, helped the rupee gain on Friday, traders told Reuters.

“We expect the rally in the rupee could further move towards 82.70 to 82.75 in the coming days,” said Dilip Parmar, a foreign exchange research analyst at HDFC Securities.

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Meanwhile, India’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed in November to $20.58 billion, down sharply from $31.46 billion in October, trade ministry data showed Friday.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.42% to $76.93 per barrel.

The domestic equity indices continued their bull run to end sharply higher on Friday, touching new all-time highs on strong global cues amid optimism over the end of monetary tightening cycle in the US and raised expectations of a higher interest rate cuts in 2024.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 969.55 points, or 1.37%, to end at 71,483.75, while the NSE Nifty 50 settled 273.95 points, or 1.29%, higher at 21,456.65.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Thursday as they bought shares worth ₹3,570.07 crore, according to exchange data.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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