Rupee recovers from record lows to end 15 paise higher at 77.55/USD

MUMBAI: Rupee recovered from record lows and settled 15 paise higher at 77.55 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, supported by a weak greenback overseas.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 77.69 against the US dollar. It moved in a range of 77.51 to 77.69 during the session.

The rupee finally snapped its three-session losing streak and closed at 77.55, registering a rise of 15 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had settled at a record low of 77.70 against the American currency.

According to Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, the rupee continued to consolidate and volatility remained confined to a narrow range despite choppiness in domestic equities.

''Today volatility for the dollar could remain low as no major economic data is expected to be released from the US. We expect the USD-INR (Spot) to trade sideways and quote in the range of 77.20 and 77.80,'' Somaiya added.

However, unabated foreign fund outflows and firm crude oil prices weighed on the rupee and kept the appreciation bias capped.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 1 percent lower at 102.12.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 37.78 points or 0.07 percent lower at 54,288.61, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 51.45 points or 0.32 percent to 16,214.70.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 1.27 percent to USD 113.98 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,265.41 crore, as per stock exchange data.