Rupee closes stronger against US dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday gained 0.42%, most in one month, against the US dollar tracking gains in the Asian currencies markets.

The rupee closed at 68.05 per dollar—up 0.42%, its maximum gains since 6 December, from its previous close of 68.33. The home currency opened at 68.28 against the dollar. Since 1 April 2016 till date, rupee has fallen 2.5%.

Traders are cautious as it will look to US Federal Reserve meeting minutes on Wednesday and US employment figures on Friday to gauge whether the rally can gain momentum. The minutes will be closely watched for signs of any potential change in fiscal policy and any impact on the monetary policy.

India’s benchmark Sensex index closed at 26,633.13 points—down 0.04% or 10.11 points from its previous close. Since 1 April till date, Sensex has gained 4.9%.

The 10-year bond yield closed at 6.382%—a level last seen on 6 December, compared to Tuesday’s close of 6.445%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

So far this fiscal year, foreign institutional investors bought $1.69 billion in equity, while they sold $5.72 billion in debt.

Most of the currencies were trading higher. China Offshore spot was up 0.89%, Singapore dollar 0.53%, China renminbi 0.38%, Thai Baht 0.34%, Japanese yen 0.28%, Indonesian rupiah 0.27%, Philippines peso 0.11%. However, South Korean won was down 0.24%, Malaysian ringgit 0.08%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 102.89, down 0.31% from its previous close of 103.21.