Rupee rises 15 paise to 72.45 against USD, gold declines Rs 205

Mumbai, May 28 (PTI): The rupee strengthened for the third straight session on Friday and closed 15 paise higher at 72.45 (provisional) against the US dollar tracking positive domestic equities.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 72.46 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 72.31 and a low of 72.49 during the session.
It finally ended at 72.45 against the American currency, registering a rise of 15 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 72.60 against the US dollar. In the last three trading sessions, the rupee has appreciated by 51 paise. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.14 per cent to 90.09. Gold declined by Rs 205 to Rs 47,910 per 10 gram in the national capital on Friday in line with selling in global precious metals and rupee appreciation, according to HDFC Securities.
The precious metal had closed at Rs 48,115 per 10 gram in the previous trade.
Silver, however, gained marginally from Rs 61 to Rs 70,521 per kilogram from Rs 70,460 per kilogram in the previous trade.
“Spot gold prices for 24 carats in Delhi fell by Rs 205 in-line with selling in COMEX gold and rupee appreciation,” according to HDFC Securities, Senior Analyst (Commodities), Tapan Patel.
The Indian rupee strengthened by 18 paise to 72.42 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday tracking positive domestic equities.
In the international market, gold was trading lower at USD 1,891 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 27.67 per ounce.
Navneet Damani, VP Commodities Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, “Gold prices edged down, as an uptick in the dollar and US Treasury yields weighed on bullion.”