The rupee is down 5.87% against the dollar so far this year
The rupee gained by as much as 50 paise - or 0.66 per cent - to touch an intra-day high of 75.26 mark against the US dollar on Friday, as the country remained in the third phase of a nationwide lockdown with few exceptions to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The rupee started the session at 75.36 and appreciated to as high as 75.26 paise against the US currency during the four-hour session, amid sharp gains in domestic equities and weakness in the dollar overseas, before shutting shop at 75.55 for the day.
The currency moved in a range of 75.26-75.60 during the session.
The dollar index - which gauges the greenback against six major peers overseas - fell as much as 0.26 per cent on Friday and was last seen trading 0.14 per cent lower.
Crude oil prices moved higher as countries including Australia moved ahead with plans to relax economic and social lockdowns put in place to halt the coronavirus pandemic, kindling market hopes for a boost in demand for crude and its products.
Brent crude - the global benchmark for crude oil - was last seen trading up 3 per cent at $30.33 per barrel, having fallen nearly 1 per cent the previous day.
For the holiday-truncated four-session week, the rupee depreciated by 45 paise (0.60 per cent).
"This week, market was very range bound. The rhetoric around the possible resumption of the US-China trade war kept risk sentiments muted," said Rahul Gupta, head of research-currency at Emkay Global Financial Services.
"The risk of collateral damage amid COVID-19 is too high for both the countries as well as the world economy," he said.
Analysts say the rupee may continue to face volatility in the near term.
The domestic currency market remained shut on Thursday, May 7, for Buddha Purnima.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors remained bullish on Indian markets, net purchasing equities worth Rs 19,056.49 crore on Thursday, provisional data shows.
At the current level, the rupee is down 5.87 per cent against the American currency so far this year.
