Rupee sheds US tariff impact, rises 26 paise to 85.38 against dollar

Mumbai: The rupee strengthened for the fourth consecutive session and closed 26 paise higher at 85.38 against the US dollar on Thursday, hitting the April 3 closing level, on the back of foreign fund inflows in domestic equities and broad weakness in the greenback.

The unit has pared all its losses since April 2, when US President Donald Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on multiple countries. On April 2, the rupee was quoted at 85.52 against the US dollar.

According to forex traders, a positive trend in domestic equities following a reprieve from the US tariffs boosted overall investor sentiment even though some recovery in crude prices weighed down on the Indian currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.48 and moved between the high of 85.31 and the low of 85.62 against the greenback during intraday.

The unit ended the session at 85.38 against the dollar, logging a gain of 26 paise from its previous closing level.

The rupee closed Wednesday’s session with a gain of 16 paise at 85.64 against the dollar.

In the preceding four sessions, the Indian currency has added 130 paise, or over 1.5 per cent, since its April 9 closing mark of 86.68 against the greenback.

The Indian currency witnessed one of the most substantial weekly appreciation fueled by an influx of overseas capital and a prevailing appetite for risk, said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

In the near-term, spot USDINR has support at 85.20 and resistance at 85.72, he added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally lower by 0.09 per cent at 99.29.