Rupee Vs Dollar (INR vs USD): Rupee opened higher at 70.58 and rose further to quote at 70.44.
The rupee rose by 46 paise to 70.44 against the US dollar in early trade today amid softening crude oil prices, reported news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).
Weakness in the American currency, the domestic equity markets trading in the green and sustained foreign fund flows lent support to the rupee, forex traders were quoted as saying in the PTI report.
Gains in the rupee came even as global ratings agency Fitch said that it expects the rupee to fall to 75 a dollar by the end of next year.
On Thursday, it had shed 44 paise to close at 70.90 a dollar.
Here are 10 things you should know about the rupee-dollar trade today:At the interbank foreign exchange, rupee opened higher at 70.58 and rose further to quote at 70.44, showing a rise of 46 paise over its previous close.Oil fell further as Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) delayed a decision on output cuts while awaiting support from non-OPEC heavyweight Russia.
Brent futures slipped 52 cents to $59.54 a barrel, while US crude lost 40 cents to $51.09, reported news agency Reuters.The dollar index eased against a basket of currencies to 96.803, and fell to 112.85 yen from a high of 113.85 at the start of the week, reported Reuters.At 12:30 pm, the 30-share Sensex traded at 35,518.05, up 205.92 points or 0.58 per cent and the Nifty50 barometer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was at 10,651.50, with a gain of 50.35 points or 0.47 per cent.The US nonfarm payrolls data, scheduled to be released by evening, is also on investors' radar, said IFA Global in a note.
Foreign funds bought net shares worth Rs 72.47 crore on Thursday, showed provisional data from NSE.
(: Rupee Payment Mechanism To Be Used For Oil Import From Iran - Report)On Thursday, Fitch Ratings said that it expects the rupee to weaken to 75 rupees against the US dollar by the end of next year on a widening current account deficit and tighter global financing conditions.The rupee is on track for its worst yearly performance in five years in 2018 and a Reuters poll recently forecast it to weaken further.The November 28-December 4 survey of around 40 strategists forecast the rupee would weaken over 2 per cent by the end of May 2019, just after the general election, to 72.00 against the dollar.The rupee is the worst performing major Asian currency this year with a fall of more than 10 per cent.
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