Indian rupee gains against UAE dirham as dollar weakens

The Indian rupee gained 15 paise to 82.16 against the US dollar (22.38 against the UAE dirham) in early trade on Tuesday as the weakness of the American currency and a positive trend in Indian equities strengthened investor sentiments.

At the Indian interbank foreign exchange, the South Asian currency opened at 82.20 against the dollar, then climbed to 82.16, registering a rise of 15 paise over its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee closed at 82.31 against the US currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.25 per cent to 102.59.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.42 per cent to $77.79 per barrel.

“Indian rupee is likely to trade higher for the last few days of the financial year on the back of year-end flows which is keeping the broader range of 81.80-82.50,” said Amit Pabari, managing director, CR Forex Advisors.

“Furthermore, the rupee downside is capped due to the Fed's current liquidity injection programme and a strong willingness to support and halt any surge in the banking crisis which has hurt the US dollar’s demand. This could help the rupee march its move towards near 81.80 levels in the current month,” Pabari added.

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