JOIN USThe rupee remained in a tight range on Wednesday as positive sentiment due to stronger Asian currencies and the euro was offset by choppy domestic shares and demand for the greenback from custodian banks and oil importers.
Most Asian currencies gained as strong trade data from China and a record yuan boosted sentiment.
However, the rupee failed to benefit as much given Indian shares were volatile for most of the session, leading to dollar demand from custodian banks.
The rupee did not gain much even as a late spurt led the BSE Sensex to a new three-month closing high, with mortgage lender HDFC Ltd hitting a record high after its earnings beat estimates.
The partially convertible rupee closed at 54.16/17 per dollar, little changed from 54.1350/1450 on Tuesday, after moving in a thin range of 54.04 to 54.19 during the session.
Traders said volumes in the market were also slightly below normal in the absence of any large flows.