The rupee rose by 9 paise to close at 81.50 (provisional) against the US currency in a restricted trade on Monday, supported by a weak greenback in the overseas markets and a decline in crude oil prices.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened lower at 81.69 and touched a low of 81.72 against the US dollar in line with losses in the equity markets.
Later, it recovered ground and touched a high of 81.49 before settling at 81.50, shoing gains of nine paise over the previous close of 81.59 on Friday.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.16 per cent to 101.76.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.25 per cent to USD 86.44 per barrel.
According to Anuj Choudhary - Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, a weak Dollar index and a decline in crude oil prices cushioned the downside. Further, FPO-related foreign inflows also supported the rupee at lower levels, he said.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias amid a weak tone in the domestic markets and expectations that the US Dollar may rise on safe-haven appeal,” Choudhary said.