Rupee surges 13 paise to 75.90 against USD amid RBI maintaining status quo

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.99% to $101.58 per barrel.

The rupee appreciated 13 paise to settle at 75.90 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Friday, amid the Reserve Bank of India maintaining status quo on the benchmark lending rate.

Announcing the monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Indian economy has large forex reserves and that it stands ready and resolute to defend the economy.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 75.99 against the U.S. dollar and touched an intra-day high of 75.70 and finally closed at 75.90, registering a rise of 13 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee had declined 19 paise to close at 76.03.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.12% up at 99.87.

This is the 11th time in a row that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by Mr. Das has maintained status quo and left the benchmark lending rate unchanged at 4%.

RBI had last revised its policy repo rate or the short-term lending rate on May 22, 2020 in an off-policy cycle to perk up demand by cutting the interest rate to a historic low.