Rupee ends higher against dollar amid hope of rate cut by US Fed

Mumbai: The rupee strengthened against the US dollar on Friday, with traders expecting a more aggressive policy easing by the US Federal Reserve.

The Indian currency closed at 69.81 a dollar, up 0.22%, from its previous close of 69.96. The currency opened at 69.77 a dollar, touching a high of 69.74, and a low of 69.95.

The 10-year bond yield closed at 6.364% from Thursday’s close of 6.387%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The Sensex fell 1.44%, or 560.45 points, to close at 38,337.01. Since January, it has gained 6.29%.

So far this year, the rupee has gained 1.40%. Foreign investors have bought $10.30 billion and $2.52 billion in equity and debt markets, respectively.

Most Asian currencies were trading higher. South Korean Won gained 0.360%, Indonesian Rupiah climbed 0.158%, Thai Baht rose 0.130%,Hong Kong Dollar gained 0.127%, Taiwan Dollar rose 0.100%, China renminbi was up 0.025%, Philippines Peso was up 0.023% and Malaysian Ringgit gained 0.022%,. However, Japanese Yen lost 0.344%, Singapore Dollar dropped 0.177% and China Offshore was down 0.092% .

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 96.996, up 0.21%, from its previous close of 96.794.