The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 83.39 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, in line with a firm trend in domestic equity markets after the Reserve Bank kept the key policy rate unchanged.

A weak American currency against major crosses overseas and lower crude prices in international markets also supported the local currency, forex traders said.

However, foreign fund outflows restricted the upward movement in the rupee, they added.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened strong at 83.46 and moved in the range of 83.48 to 83.37 against the greenback.

The unit finally settled at 83.39 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a gain of 14 paise from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee settled 9 paise lower at 83.53 against the dollar.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday decided to keep the policy rate unchanged for the eighth time in a row, saying it will maintain a tight vigil on inflation.

Announcing the second bi-monthly monetary policy for the current financial year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03 per cent lower at 104.03.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.25 per cent to USD 79.67 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 1,618.85 points, or 2.16 per cent, to close at its lifetime high of 76,693.36. The broader NSE Nifty also soared 468.75 points or 2.05 per cent to its fresh peak of 23,290.15.

Foreign investors were net sellers of Indian equities on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 6,867.72 crore on a net basis.

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