Rupee gains 2 paise to close at 77.64 against US dollar

MUMBAI: The rupee inched up 2 paise to close at 77.64 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, tracking a weak American currency in the overseas market.

However, surging crude prices, unabated foreign capital outflows and subdued domestic equities capped the appreciation bias in the rupee, forex dealers said.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened slightly strong at 77.65 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 77.55 and a low of 77.67.

It finally settled at 77.64, a rise of 2 paise over its previous close.

In the previous session, the rupee had settled at 77.66 against the greenback.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 93.91 points or 0.17 per cent lower at 55,675.32, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 14.75 points or 0.09 per cent to 16,569.55.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.20 per cent to 101.93.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.60 per cent to USD 120.44 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,770.51 crore, as per stock exchange data.

Meanwhile, the RBI's rate-setting panel MPC on Monday began its three-day deliberations amid expectations of another hike in benchmark interest rates to contain inflation that continues to remain above the central bank's upper tolerance level.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will announce the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Wednesday.