What triggered the Rupee's gains on Friday

MUMBAI: The rupee gained more than half a per cent to the dollar mirroring strength in other emerging market currencies while a surge in share market also created additional demand for the local unit.

The rupee on Friday strengthened 0.60% or 40 paisa against the greenback to close at 67.63. During the day, it rose to 67.61, a level not seen since last Tuesday.

“Investors have unwound a lot of short positions on the rupee as the dollar lost value globally in the wake of a rise in oil prices,” said Keta Kurkute, AVP-forex advisory, Mecklai Financial. “This has added to the rupee’s strength.”

“The rupee is unlikely to see any wild swings next week ahead of the crucial FOMC meeting, but remain range bound,” she said.

The rupee-dollar pair may trade in the range of 67.30-68.10, dealers said. The rupee had lost value hitting 29-month low of 68.02 on Thursday.

Speculative bets came off limiting intra-day volatility as the arbitrage opportunity between onshore and offshore derivative markets contracted significantly to just three-four paisa versus seven-15 paisa in the past few trading sessions.

Oil jumped by more than 6% on Friday after it had dipped to sub- $28 a barrel.

An uptick in oil prices has allayed investor apprehension globally, with the European central bank hinting at easy monetary policy. Earlier, investors were worried over global growth concerns.