Chennai, Apr 18 (IANS): The Indian rupee is expected to gain against the US dollar in the next fortnight, said Bank of Baroda in a research report.

According to the Bank of Baroda report authored by Economist Aditi Gupta, the Indian rupee is most likely to make further gains against the US dollar in the next fortnight with a range of Rs 81.5/$ - 82.5/$.

In April this year, the Indian rupee gained 0.4 per cent building on a gain of 0.6 per cent it made in March 2023. While oil prices increased, weaker dollar, foreign portfolio investment (FPI) inflows and improvement in external outlook supported Indian rupee to gain, the report said.

The report said in April the dollar index fell by 0.9 per cent on the expectation that the US Federal Reserve is nearing an end to its rate hike cycle gaining momentum, the report said.

The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England are expected to continue with their rate hike cycle owing to the stickiness in the inflation.