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The rupee fell 21 paise to close as 81.38 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday amid rise in crude prices. However, strong sentiment at domestic equities market and a weak dollar restricted the fall of the local currency, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened stronger at 80.92 to a dollar against the previous close of 81.17. The local unit moved in a range of 81.47 to 80.93 during the day. On Friday, the rupee had appreciated by 19 paise to close at 81.17 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.35 per cent to 101.66 amid concerns over US economic growth. The Brent crude rose 0.26 per cent to USD 87.86 per barrel. On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose by 319.90 points or 0.53 per cent to 60,941.67, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 90.90 points or 0.5 per cent to settle at 18,118.55. Foreign Institutional
A wild swing in international oil prices in 2022 brought back indirect fuel subsidies in India in a setback to reforms, but the nation won at crude diplomacy as it refused to succumb to western pressures and continued to buy oil from the cheapest available source. International oil prices have been turbulent in the last couple of years. It dipped into the negative zone at the start of the pandemic in 2020 and swung wildly in 2022 -- climbing to a 14-year high of nearly USD 140 per barrel in March 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, before sliding on weaker demand from top importer China and worries of an economic contraction. But for a nation that is 85 per cent dependent on imports, the spike meant adding to already firming inflation and derailing the economic recovery from the pandemic. So, state-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) froze petrol and diesel prices for the longest ...