Rupee clocks marginal 3 paise gains at 72.46 against US dollar

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     Mumbai, Feb 23 (PTI) The rupee slipped from the day's highest level but managed to eke out a marginal gain of 3 paise at 72.46 against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking muted domestic equities and stronger greenback against key rivals.
     At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 72.36 against the US dollar and witnessed an intra-day high of 72.31 and a low of 72.46.
     It finally ended at 72.46 a dollar, registering a rise of 3 paise from its previous close.
     Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.16 per cent to 90.15.
     "The Indian rupee marginally appreciated this Tuesday against the US currency on speculative dollar sales and exporter covering," said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.
     The rupee was also helped by the dollar index falling to 89.94, its lowest level in over one month, he said.
     Markets could look to cues from the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testimony before the Congress tonight, Iyer noted.
     On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 7.09 points or 0.01 per cent higher at 49,751.41, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 32.10 points or 0.22 per cent to 14,707.80.
     Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 893.25 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
     Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.90 per cent to USD 65.83 per barrel. PTI DRR MKJ

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)