Rupee firms up gains to end at 76.06 against dollar

Mumbai : The rupee pared its initial losses to settle marginally higher by 3 paise at 76.06 against the US dollar on Friday, even as concerns over foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices weighed on overall sentiment.
The local unit, however, recorded its fourth weekly decline amid growing concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Firming up of crude oil prices too weighed on the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 76.23 a dollar, registering a decline of 14 paise from the last close. During the day, it pared its losses and settled at 76.06 (provisional) against the American currency.
On a weekly basis, the rupee depreciated 28 paise against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against the basket of six currencies, fell 0.08 per cent to 95.96.
“Indian rupee stabilised today after hitting lowest level of 20 months this week, but recorded fourth weekly decline to close at 76.09 a dollar amid risk averse sentiments, policy divergence, foreign fund outflows and higher trade deficit number,” said Dilip Parmar- Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.