Rupee slips 2 paise at 74.20 against USD, gold declines Rs 66

Mumbai, Jun 25 (PTI): The rupee weakened by 2 paise to end at 74.20 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday as higher crude oil prices weighed on forex market sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 74.15 per dollar as against its previous close of 74.18.
It hovered in the range of 74.14 to 74.25 during the day before ending at 74.20 against the greenback.
“The Indian rupee remained under pressure on Friday on firm crude oil prices and as market participants remained vigilant ahead of US Core PCE Price Index data,” Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.08 per cent to 91.74.
“Dollar is showing weakness amid Fed officials differing view on how long inflation is likely to stay high and when to tighten monetary policy. Market Sentiments improved on news that US President Joe Biden and a group of senators agreed on roughly USD 1 trillion infrastructure plan securing bipartisan deal,” he noted. The rupee may gain as number of COVID-19 cases in India continued to decline. Rupee may trade in the range of 73.55 to 74.50 in next couple of sessions, he added.
Gold in the national capital on Friday dipped marginally by Rs 66 to Rs 46,309 per 10 gram, according to HDFC Securities.
The precious metal had closed at Rs 46,375 per 10 gram in the previous trade.
“Spot gold prices for 24 carat in Delhi were down by Rs 66 reflecting overnight weakness in COMEX gold prices,” according to HDFC Securities, Senior Analyst (Commodities), Tapan Patel.
In contrast, silver jumped Rs 332 to Rs 67,248 per kilogram from Rs 66,916 per kilogram in the previous trade.
In the international market, both gold and silver were trading marginally higher at USD 1,782 per ounce and USD 26.17 per ounce, respectively.
“Gold prices are fluctuating within a narrow range on mixed global cues with the firm dollar,” he added.