Indian Rupee: Rising Crude Prices Likely To Weigh

21 Mar 2022 , 09:11 AM

The Indian rupee is expected to stay optimistic amid dollar weakness overseas on Monday, 21 March 2022, although rising crude oil prices could weigh down the domestic currency. On Thursday, rupee strengthened below Rs 76 per dollar mark. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 75.96 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 75.77 and a low of 75.97. The rupee settled at 75.80, registering a rise of 41 paise over its previous close of 76.21.

Domestic equity indices settled with robust gains on Thursday, rising for the second trading session. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 1,047.28 points or 1.84% to 57,863.93. The Nifty 50 index rallied 311.70 points or 1.84% to 17,287.05. Indian stock markets were closed on Friday, March 18, on account of Holi. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,800.14 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 678.45 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 March, provisional data showed.

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Monday, as investors reacted to the release of Chinas latest benchmark lending rate. Chinas one-year loan prime rate was kept unchanged at 3.7% on Monday. Markets in Japan are closed on Monday for a holiday. Wall Streets three major indexes closed higher on Friday, with the biggest boost from recently battered technology stocks, after talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping over the Ukraine crisis ended without big surprises.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six peers, was steady at 98.270. US Dollar Index (DXY) pares intraday gains during Mondays Asian session. The U.S. Federal Reserves raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points last week for the first time since the pandemic.

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