TIL Desk/Business/Mumbai/ Rising for the third straight day, the rupee strengthened by 55 paise to settle at 73.57 against the US dollar Friday, marking its biggest gain in over three weeks as global crude prices eased and domestic indices staged a smart rebound.
Steps taken by the government to curb non-essential imports and anticipation of more measures to attract foreign inflows have boosted sentiment in the market, traders said. The government Thursday hiked the import duty on certain communication items, including base stations, to up to 20 per cent as part of efforts to check a widening current account deficit and shore up the rupee.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex), the rupee opened on a strong note at 73.84 from Thursday’s close of 74.12. It gained further ground to hit a high of 73.52 against the US dollar, driven by selling of the greenback by exporters and banks and easing crude oil prices. The domestic unit finally settled for the day at 73.57, up by 55 paise. This is its biggest gain since September 19, when it had jumped 61 paise.
