INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
This is the highest closing level since August 10, when the rupee had finished at 68.83.Mumbai: The rupee appreciated by 20 paise to close
at a seven-month high of 69.34 against the US dollar on Thursday, extending gains for a fourth session in a row, on robust foreign inflows
ahead of general elections
The domestic currency in the four sessions to Thursday has appreciated by 80 paise or 0.8 per cent on hopes of forex inflows."Rupee and
sovereign bonds have recovered from day's low and turned positive even after RBI's plan to inject $5 billion liquidity via three-year
foreign exchange swap auction," said V K Sharma, head PCG Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities.The Reserve Bank of India said it will
inject long-term liquidity worth $5 billion into the system through dollar-rupee swap arrangement with banks for three years."RBI
announcement will have a limited impact on USD/INR spot on higher rupee liquidity in the economy, expectations of lower OMOs and likely
greater FX inflows on lower hedging costs," Mr Sharma said.The strong foreign fund flows in current month also bode well for the rupee
"FIIs have flooded Indian markets with $1.8 billion till date in March which has partially helped market rally," said Sunil Sharma, chief
investment officer, Sanctum Wealth Management.At the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, the rupee opened weak at 69.75 a dollar over its
previous closing price of 69.54
The local unit moved in a range of 69.78 to 69.26 before finally ending at 69.34, showing a gain of 20 paise over its last close.This is the
highest closing level since August 10, when the rupee had finished at 68.83.Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's
strength against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.24 per cent to 96.78.Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the
capital markets, putting in Rs 1,482.99 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data.Hemang Jani, head - advisory, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas,
said that capital markets seem to be factoring in another term for the current government
FIIs have pumped in Rs 30,000 crore this year.Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.16 per cent to trade at
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed almost flat Thursday after a volatile trade.The BSE Sensex erased its early gains to end up by
just 2.72 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 37,754.89, extending the winning run to a fourth session
The broader NSE Nifty closed marginally up by 1.55 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 11,343.25.The Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL)
set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 69.6657 and for rupee/euro at 78.8416
The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 92.2880 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 62.43.Get the latest election news, live
updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on TheIndianSubcontinent.com/elections
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