Mumbai, March 10 The rupee staged a strong recovery from its record low against the US dollar on Tuesday, gaining 36 paise to settle at 91.85, aided by a sharp fall in global crude oil prices, fueled by hopes of de-escalation of the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
Forex traders said the Indian rupee appreciated as crude oil prices and the US dollar retreated following comments from President Donald Trump signaling a potential end to the conflict with Iran.
Further, sharp gains in the domestic equity markets, along with a weaker greenback, provided further support to the domestic unit, they said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.92 against the US dollar and traded in the range of 91.71-92.19 before settling at 91.85, up 36 paise from its previous close.
The rupee crashed to its all-time closing low of 92.21 against the US dollar on Monday, down 39 paise, as global crude oil prices saw a sharp spike, and the greenback strengthened.
"The rupee recovered from all-time lows due to easing risk-off sentiments in global markets after US President Donald Trump suggested that the war with Iran could end soon, as they have achieved their military objectives. Overnight decline in the dollar index and a sharp fall in crude oil prices also favored the rupee," Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a slight positive bias due to positive domestic markets and a weak dollar. The USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 91.60-92.20," he said.
Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 9.54 per cent at USD 89.52 per barrel in futures trade.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.55 per cent lower at 98.63.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex jumped 639.82 points to settle at 78,205.98, while Nifty surged 233.55 points to 24,261.60.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 4,672.64 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data.