Rupee gains 14 paise to close at 79.52 against US dollar

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee appreciated by 14 paise on Wednesday to close at 79.52 against the US dollar due to fall in crude oil prices and inflows of foreign investors.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, rupee ended at 79.52 against the US dollar as against 79.66 on the previous trading session on Monday.

Indian financial markets were close on Tuesday on account of Muharram.

"Some exporter flows and oil demand kept the pair steady. Speculators were on sidelines ahead of the US inflation report scheduled later in the evening. Over the near term, we expect USD-INR to remain rangebound between 79.00 and 80.00 levels on spot," said Anindya Banerjee, VP, Currency Derivatives & Interest Rate Derivatives, at Kotak Securities Ltd.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies was at 106.00.

Brent crude oil prices were trading at $95.38 by the end of Indian market hours.

On the domestic equity front, domestic indices ended on a flat note, with Sensex falling 35.78 points or 0.06 per cent at 58,817.29, and Nifty closing 9.65 points or 0.06 per cent up at 17,534.75.

On Monday, foreign investors bought Indian shares worth Rs 1,449 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 141 crore.