The Indian Rupee on Monday rallied to a five-week high as markets opened on Monday. The domestic unit rose 47 paise to settle at 94.71 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday as crude oil prices dropped sharply after US President Donald Trump announced that the US and Iran finalized a deal to end the war.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 94.70 against the US dollar and traded in the range of 94.45-94.77. Eventually, it settled at 94.71 (provisional), up 47 paise from its previous close.
The rupee jumped 67 paise to close at 95.18 against the greenback on Friday.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.65, down 0.20 per cent.
Earlier on Sunday, the Union finance minister said fluctuations in the rupee against the US dollar are driven by multiple global and domestic factors, including geopolitical uncertainties, foreign capital movements and India’s import dependence on crude oil, fertilisers and gold.
Addressing reporters at Devanahalli near Bengaluru during a programme marking 12 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government, Sitharaman said exchange rates were influenced by a range of external developments and market conditions. “Whenever there is a severe fluctuation or volatility, the Reserve Bank intervenes in the market not to fix a price. Only to stop any kind of fluctuation. The Reserve Bank comes into picture, stabilises it, and comes out, for which it uses foreign exchange from the Reserve. So it does it sparingly,” she said.