Rupee settles marginally higher at 72.91 against USD

Mumbai:

The Indian rupee recovered from the day’s lows to end higher by a marginal 2 paise at 72.91 against the American currency on Wednesday, tracking positive investor sentiment globally in the wake of easing bond yields.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 72.97 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 72.88 and a low of 73.10.

It finally ended at 72.91 against the American currency, registering a rise of 2 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled 32 paise higher at 72.93 against the American currency.

“The Indian rupee ended flat against the US currency on Wednesday, as strong local equities offset the impact of rebound in the dollar index and a pullback in US treasury yields,” said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

Meanwhile, other emerging market currencies also came under pressure on Wednesday as the dollar index continued to move higher, along with the bond yields and kept appreciation bias limited, Iyer said.

Investors will have their eye on US inflation numbers due later on Wednesday.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.07 per cent to 92.02, ahead of the inflation data this Wednesday.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.30 per cent to USD 67.32 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 254.03 points or 0.50 per cent higher at 51,279.51, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 76.40 points or 0.51 per cent to 15,174.80.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 15.69 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Forex markets will remain shut on Thursday on account of Mahashivratri.