Rupee closes near 17-month high against US dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Tuesday rebounded and closed near 17-month high against the US dollar. It gained six out of seven trading sessions.

The rupee closed at 65.28 a dollar—up 0.12% from its Monday’s close of 65.36. The rupee opened at 65.40 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 65.21 and 65.44, respectively.

The US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates two, three or four times this year, said Chicago Fed president Charles Evans, though his Minneapolis colleague Neel Kashkari argued that there was no need to rush, Bloomberg reported.

Traders are awaiting Fed chairwoman’s Janet Yellen’s speech on Thursday for further cues.

So far this year, rupee gained 4.2% while foreign institutional investors have bought $4.23 billion and $1.28 million from local equity and debt markets, respectively.

The benchmark Sensex index fell 0.11% or 33.29 points to closed at 29,485.45. So far this year, it has risen 10.8%.

The 10-year bond yield closed at 6.887%, compared to its Monday’s close of 6.893%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Asian currencies were trading lower. Thai baht was down 0.23%, Singapore dollar 0.15%, Japanese yen 0.14%, China offshore 0.06% and Philippines peso fell 0.05%. However, South Korean won was up 0.37% and Taiwan dollar 0.18%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 100.22—down 0.19% from its Monday’s close of 100.41.