Rupee gains 7 paise to close at ₹77.98 against US dollar
The Hindu
At the interbank forex market, rupee opened strong at ₹77.98 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of ₹77.87 and a low of ₹78.03
The rupee appreciated by 7 paise to settle at ₹77.98 against the US dollar on Monday as crude oil prices retreated from elevated levels.
However, unabated foreign fund outflows restricted the appreciation bias in the rupee, forex dealers said.
At the interbank forex market, rupee opened strong at ₹77.98 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of ₹77.87 and a low of ₹78.03.
It finally settled at ₹77.98, a rise of 7 paise over its previous close of ₹78.05.
“Rupee consolidated in a broad range despite volatility in domestic and global equities. Fed projection showed economic growth slowing to a below-trend rate of 1.7%,” said Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 237.42 points or 0.46% higher at 51,597.84, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 56.65 points or 0.37% to 15,350.15.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.37% at 104.31.
The Union Budget unveiled on February 1, 2025, has come at a time of unprecedented global uncertainty and a flagging domestic economy. The real GDP growth is estimated at 6.4% for 2024-25 and between 6.3-6.8% for 2025-26, a far cry from >8 percent growth required annually to make India a developed nation by 2047. While much attention has been devoted to the demand stimulus through income tax cuts, not enough is said about the proposed reforms in urban development, tariff rationalisation, and regulatory simplification aimed at making Indian cities and corporates more competitive. Since the majority of economic activity is located in cities (urban areas account for ~55% of GDP) and produced by large corporates (~40% of the national output and 55% of India’s exports), the above-mentioned reforms have a pivotal role in improving India’s trend growth rate. Below we unpack each reform.