Rupee gains as US delays tariff on some Chinese imports

Mumbai: Indian rupee on Wednesday strengthened against the US dollar tracking Asian peers which gained after the US delayed tariffs on some Chinese imports.

At 9.10am, the rupee was at 70.92 a dollar, up 0.68% from its Tuesday's close of 71.40. The domestic currency had opened at 70.93. So far this year, the unit has declined 1.8%.

US said it was delaying until mid-December the 10% tariff on some Chinese-made products that are high on many holiday-shopping lists such as phones, laptops and toys.

Government bond yields rose for the fifth consecutive sessions. The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.546%, compared with its previous close of 6.526%.

The benchmark equity index Sensex rose 0.76% to 37237.44 points. So far this year, it has risen 2.47%.

Year to date, foreign investors have bought nearly $7.92 billion in equity and $2.82 billion in debt.

Most Asian currencies were trading higher. South Korean won was up 0.8%, Taiwan dollar rose 0.74%, Indonesian rupiah gained 0.63%, Japanese yen climbed 0.36%, China renminbi rose 0.31%, Philippines peso gained 0.29%, and Malaysian ringgit was up 0.25%. However, China Offshore fell 0.32%, and Singapore dollar was down0.08%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against a basket of major currencies, was at 97.776, down 0.04% from its previous close of 97.812.

(Bloomberg contributed this story)