Rupee closes higher against US dollar
The rupee closed at 63.54 a dollar, up 0.23% from its Wednesday's close of 63.69
Mumbai: The Indian rupee strengthened against US dollar on Thursday, tracking gains in the Asian currencies markets.
The home currency closed at 63.54 a dollar, up 0.23% from its Wednesday’s close of 63.69. The rupee opened at 63.53 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 63.46 and 63.64, respectively.
Asian currencies were trading higher as dollar weakened to three year low after US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin endorsed the dollar’s decline as a benefit to the American economy and commerce secretary Wilbur Ross said the US would fight harder to protect its exporters, Bloomberg reported.
South Korean won was up 0.88%, Taiwan dollar 0.63%, Thai baht 0.50%, Malaysian ringgit 0.34%, China renminbi 0.31%, China Offshore 0.24%, Indonesian rupiah 0.23%, Japanese yen 0.11%, Singapore dollar 0.11%.
The 10-year bond yield ended at 7.307% compared to its previous close of 7.276%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The benchmark Sensex fell 0.31%, or 111.20 points, to 36,050.44. So far this year, it has gained 5.8%.
So far this year rupee gained 0.5% while foreign investors have bought $1.62 billion and $972 million in equity and debt market respectively.
Traders are cautious ahead of the last full-year Union budget on 1 February before the 2019 elections and Reserve Bank of India’s bi-monthly policy on 7 February.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 89.075, down 0.15% from its previous close of 89.206.
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