Rupee down 15 paise at 74.73 against USD, gold climbs Rs 97

Mumbai, Apr 09 (PTI): The rupee fell for the fifth straight session and settled 15 paise down at 74.73 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday as rising COVID-19 cases, weak domestic equities and strengthening American currency weighed on investors’ sentiment.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 74.75 against the greenback and traded in the range of 74.53 to 74.96 during the day.
The rupee finally ended at 74.73 against the American currency, registering a fall of 15 paise over its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 74.58 against the American currency.
This is the fifth straight session of loss for the domestic unit, during which it has seen depreciation of 161 paise. “Rupee traded weak yet again as the weak trend continues on the back of government spending on vaccines and treatment of COVID-19 increasing numbers,” said Jateen Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at LKP Securities.
Trivedi further noted that “74.75 is now maintained as resistance for the rupee. Going ahead 74.75 – 75.25 range can be seen with the weak trend for rupee”.
India registered a record single-day spike of 1,31,968 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, pushing its infection tally to 1,30,60,542, while the death toll increased to 1,67,642 with 780 more fatalities in a day, highest since October 18, the Union Health Ministry data showed.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.25 per cent to 92.29. Gold prices gained Rs 97 to Rs 46,257 per 10 gram in the national capital on Friday supported by rupee depreciation, according to HDFC Securities.
In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed the day at Rs 46,160 per 10 gram.
In contrast, silver dipped Rs 275 to Rs 66,253 per kg, from Rs 66,528 per kg in the previous trade.
“Spot gold prices for 24 karat in Delhi were up by Rs 97 supported by rupee depreciation,” said HDFC Securities Senior Analyst (Commodities) Tapan Patel.
The rupee depreciated 17 paise to 74.75 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday.
In the international market, gold was quoting lower at USD 1,745 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 25.15 per ounce.
“Gold prices witnessed some profit-booking with dollar gain,” he added.