Rupee strengthens against US dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Tuesday strengthened against the US dollar, tracking gains in the Asian currencies market.

At 2pm, the rupee was trading at 63.75 a dollar, up 0.10% from its Monday’s close of 63.81. The rupee opened at 63.76 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 63.72 and 63.80 respectively.

The benchmark Sensex index fell 0.69% or 221.55 points to 32,052.12. So far this year, it has risen over 21%.

The 10-year bond yield was at 6.457%, compared to its previous close of 6.458%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

So far this year, the rupee gained 6.5% while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought $8.71 billion and $18.49 billion in equity and debt markets, respectively.

Asian currencies were trading higher as dollar weakened. China offshore was up 0.29%, China renminbi 0.27%, Philippines peso 0.23%, Japanese yen 0.13%, Singapore dollar 0.13% and Thai baht 0.07%. However, Hong Kong dollar was down 0.05%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 93.305, down 0.15% from its previous close of 93.432.