Rupee strengthens past 90/USD level to end 53 paise higher at 89.67 against dollar

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) The rupee appreciated 53 paise to close at 89.67 against the US dollar on Friday, supported by corporate dollar inflows and easing crude oil prices.

Forex traders said a positive trend in domestic equities and Brent crude oil prices hovering near USD 59 per barrel supported the domestic unit at lower levels.

The gain in the USD/INR pair follows the rupee's string of record lows in recent weeks, likely on intervention from the Reserve Bank of India, they added.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.19 against the US dollar, then recovered some lost ground to touch an intra-day high of 89.25, registering a 95-paise gain from its previous close.

At the end of the trading session on Friday, the rupee was quoted at 89.67, up 53 paise from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee appreciated by 18 paise to close at 90.20 against the US dollar.

The rupee sank to a fresh record low, breaching the 91-a-dollar mark for the first time on Tuesday.

"The Indian rupee rose for the third consecutive session on Friday amid corporate dollar inflows and falling crude oil prices. Strength in the domestic markets too favoured the rupee," said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan.

Choudhary further added that the rupee is likely to trade with a negative bias due to selling pressure from foreign investors and nervousness amid the delay in the trade deal between India and the US.

"However, overall weakness in the US dollar index and crude oil prices may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 89.90 to 90.50," he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.24 per cent higher at 98.66.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.37 per cent lower at USD 59.60 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex jumped 447.55 points to settle at 84,929.36, while the Nifty surged 150.85 points to 25,966.40.

Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 1,830.89 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

India's forex reserves jumped by USD 1.689 billion to USD 688.949 billion during the week ended December 12, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves increased by USD 1.033 billion to USD 687.26 billion.

According to the income tax department data, net direct tax collection grew 8 per cent to over Rs 17.04 lakh crore this fiscal till December 17 on slower refunds and higher advance taxes from corporates. PTI DRR HVA