Rupee at 75.23 against dollar, reaches 20.49 vs dirham

Dubai - The currency had opened 15 paise lower at 75.14 per dollar versus Thursday close of 74.99.

Indian rupee extended the early losses and was trading at day's low level at 75.23 per US dollar, to qote at Dh75.23.
The currency had opened 15 paise lower at 75.14 per dollar versus Thursday close of 74.99. Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global, said: "USDINR continues to get bid up as inflows are being absorbed. Today's weekly closing will be important. Rupee is likely to open around 75.12 and trade 74.85-75.25 range. May IIP is due today."
"The rupee closed almost flat while no major OI was seen in the USD-INR pair. We feel the trading range with support near 75 levels would continue, said ICICIdirect in section of Indian media.
The dollar-rupee contract on the NSE was at 75.18 in the last session. The open interest remained almost flat in the last session, it added.
"Asian currencies are trading weak against the USD. Asian equities are trading weak. Shanghai Composite is on course to snap a 8 session winning streak. Nifty is expected to trade with a slight negative bias," added Goenka.
The dollar and other safe-haven currencies gained against their riskier peers on Friday after a surge in new coronavirus infections in the United States further undermined the case for a quick turnaround in the economy. 
The  dollar index  was up about 0.1 per cent in Asia to 96.863 from near one-month low of 96.233 touched on Thursday. The safe-haven yen hit a two-week high against the dollar, rising to 107.00 per dollar.
The Swiss franc, another safe-haven, flirted near its highest level in six weeks against the euro, at 1.0619 franc per euro. Against the dollar, the franc changed hands at 0.9419 per dollar after having touched a four-month high of 0.93625 to the dollar.
The euro shed 0.1 per cent to $1.1273, slipping back from a one-month high of $1.1371 on Thursday.
"Although we have seen improvements in economic data, people are beginning to think that is just a natural outcome of economic reopenings. Now they are starting to worry more about increasing infections," said Minori Uchida, chief currency strategist at MUFG Bank. Many risk-sensitive currencies took a step back following their rally in recent weeks.
The Australian dollar lost 0.3 per cent to $0.6942, off Thursday's one-month high of $0.7001. The yuan, which often tends to align with risk-sensitive currency groups, bucked the trend, supported by hopes of capital inflows as Chinese shares prices have surged after Beijing indicated it wants a healthy bull market. The offshore yuan traded at 7.005 yuan per dollar, down about 0.1per cent, having touched near-four-month high of 6.9808 on Thursday.
The Chinese currency has gained almost 1 per cent so far this week, outpacing many others in the same time.
In addition to stock investments and hopes of a recovery in the world's second-biggest economy, higher China debt yields are also attracting foreign capital, said Dmitriy Vlasov, portfolio manager at East Capital in Hong Kong. "We have had quite a big inflows in the fixed income markets as interest rate differentials are also leading to the appreciation of the yuan." - with inputs from Reuters, sandhya@khaleejtimes.com