Robust capital inflows and good show by local equities helped the Indian rupee on Friday snap a four-day losing trend and end nine paise higher at 61.36 against the Greenback. Fresh dollar selling by exporters and some banks also aided the rupee rise while a strong dollar overseas after forecast-beating U.S. growth data kept the local currency under check, forex traders said.
Indian stocks helped the rupee end a falling trend as overseas investors pumped in over Rs. 1,750 crore today that helped Sensex surge 519.50 points to a new record. Global markets were in positive mood after Bank of Japan unexpectedly ramped up its monetary easing programme.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit commenced better at 61.39 a dollar from previous close of 61.45. It traded in a narrow range of 61.33 and 61.4450 before settling at 61.36, a rise of nine paise or 0.15 per cent. In previous four days, the rupee had dipped by 18 paise or 0.3 per cent.
“Rupee was supported by strong inflow in domestic market,” said Kiran Kumar Kavikondala, director & CEO, WealthRays Securities. The dollar index was up by 0.46 per cent against its major global rivals. The gains came in the wake of a statement from the Federal Reserve that suggested growing confidence in the economic recovery and U.S. September quarter growth rising by 3.5 per cent, higher than consensus estimates.
Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Veracity Group said, “Rupee continues to trade in a tight range but ended higher. The trading range for the spot rupee is expected to be within 60.00 to 61.80.” In the forwards market, premium ended steady to better on stray payments by banks and corporates.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in March almost stable at 191-192.5 paise from 191-193 paise while far-forward contracts maturing in September, 2015 rose to 422-424 paise from 417.5-419.5 paise previously. The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for dollar at 61.4080 and for the euro at 77.1899.
The rupee improved further against the pound to 98.23 from overnight close of 98.32 and also remained firm to end at 77.22 per euro from 77.37. It too shot up to 54.95 per 100 Japanese yen from 56.38.
