Rupee recovers 6 paise to settle at 82.74 against US dollar

Mumbai: The rupee recovered 6 paise to settle at 82.74 (provisional) against the US currency on Wednesday following weakness in the US dollar in global markets.

FII inflows into the capital market and firm equity markets supported the local unit while gains in crude oil prices restricted the rupee upside, according to analysts.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened higher at 82.67 amid overnight losses in the US dollar against major global rivals. It moved between a high of 82.66 and a low of 82.81 in intra-day trade.

The rupee finally closed at 82.74 against the dollar, a gain of 6 paise compared to the closing level of 82.80 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03 per cent lower at 103.50 after US data suggested that labour market was cooling, a scenario that could provide support for the US Federal Reserve in eventual easing interest rates.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.56 per cent to USD 85.97 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex closed higher by 11.43 points or 0.02 per cent at 65,087.25 points while the broader Nifty advanced by 4.80 points to close at 19,347.45 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Tuesday as they bought shares worth Rs 61 crore, according to exchange data.