Rupee gains 9 paise at 72.96 against USD, gold gains Rs 132

Mumbai, Jan 29 (PTI):
The rupee gained 9 paise to settle at 72.96 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday even as the domestic equity markets closed with significant losses.
At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 73.01, and hit an intra-day high of 72.93 and a low of 73.01. It finally finished at 72.96, higher by 9 paise over its last close. On Thursday, the rupee had finished at 73.05 against the American currency. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.32 per cent to 90.74. Meanwhile, the pre-Budget Economic Survey on Friday said India’s economic growth is likely to rebound with an 11 per cent expansion in the next financial year as it makes a ‘V-shaped’ recovery after witnessing a pandemic-led carnage. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to contract by a record 7.7 per cent in the current fiscal ending March 31, 2021. The Economic Survey 2020-21 also said the agriculture sector is the only silver lining while services, manufacturing and construction were most hit by the lockdown that was imposed to curb the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 588.59 points or 1.26 per cent lower at 46,285.77, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 182.95 points or 1.32 per cent to 13,634.60. Gold gained Rs 132 to Rs 48,376 per 10 gram in the national capital on Friday, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 48,244 per 10 gram. Silver also jumped Rs 2,915 to Rs 68,410 per kg, from Rs 65,495 per kg in the previous trade.
“Ahead of the Union Budget, spot gold prices for 24 karat in Delhi quoted Rs 132 per 10 gram higher,” said HDFC Securities Senior Analyst (Commodities) Tapan Patel.
In the international market, gold was trading in the green at USD 1,844.35 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 26.35 per ounce.