The Indian rupee surged by 67 paise to settle at 95.18 against the US dollar on Friday, buoyed by a significant drop in global crude oil prices after US President Donald Trump indicated that a deal with Iran could be imminent, according to PTI. A positive trend in domestic equity markets and weakness in the US currency further supported the rupee's recovery, forex traders noted.
Trump stated that a deal to end the war with Iran is nearly complete and is expected to be signed over the weekend in Europe. This came after he called off military strikes on the Islamic Republic, hours after threatening to take control of its oil industry. Following Trump's remarks, international crude oil prices declined sharply. Brent crude, the global benchmark, traded 4.25% lower at $86.54 per barrel in futures trade.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.40 and moved within a range of 94.95 to 95.53 before closing at 95.18 against the greenback. The domestic currency had plunged 60 paise to close at 95.85 against the US dollar on Thursday.
"Indian Rupee jumped sharply by nearly a per cent on a rise in risk appetite in global markets and a sharp fall in crude oil prices after Iran reportedly confirmed the US-Iran peace deal. This raised expectations of an end to the US-Iran war. This also led to a sharp fall in US Treasury yields across various tenures," said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, as quoted by PTI.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.20% at 99.65. Domestic equities also posted strong gains. The Sensex soared 1,695.40 points to settle at 75,527.95, while the Nifty advanced 461.30 points to close at 23,622.90. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), however, remained net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs 1,082.18 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
