Rupee falls 12 paise at 73.42 against USD, gold climbs Rs 83

Mumbai, Apr 06 (PTI): The rupee pared its initial gains and closed down by 12 paise at 73.42 (provisional) against the US currency on Tuesday amid concerns that rising COVID-19 cases and subsequent lockdowns in some states may hurt economic recovery.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 73.22 against the greenback and traded in the range of 73.20 to 73.42 during the day.
The rupee finally ended at 73.42 against the American currency, registering a fall of 12 paise over its previous closing of 73.30.
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections in India remained above 90,000 for the third consecutive day taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally of cases to 1,26,86,049, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.
Forex traders said rising crude oil prices and strengthening of the American currency in the overseas market also weighed on investors’ sentiment. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.13 per cent to 92.71.
Gold prices in the national capital rose by Rs 83 to Rs 45,049 per 10 gram on Tuesday following rally in international precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.
In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 44,966 per 10 gram.
Silver also gained Rs 62 to Rs 64,650 per kg from the previous close of Rs 64,588 per kg.
In the international market, gold was quoting with gains at USD 1,733 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 24.97 per ounce.
“Gold prices were supported by weaker dollar and pandemic worries,” according to HDFC Securities, Senior Analyst (Commodities), Tapan Patel.