<p>Rising for the third session in a row, the rupee advanced by 16 paise to close at over one-week high of 61.79 against the US dollar today after exporters sold the American currency ahead of durable goods order data.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Negative closing in Indian stocks and a firm dollar overseas, however, restricted the rupee's rise.<br /><br />The rupee opened higher at 61.84 a dollar from yesterday's close of 61.95 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market. However, it fell back in afternoon trade to a low of 61.97 tracking a drop in stocks and a strong dollar abroad.<br /><br />Later, it bounced back on dollar selling by exporters and some banks to a high of 61.78, before settling at 61.79, a net rise of 16 paise or 0.23 per cent. This is its best closing since 61.73 on December 16.<br /><br />In three trading days, the rupee has shot up by 35 paise or 0.56 per cent against the US dollar.<br /><br />The BSE benchmark Sensex today washed out initial gains and closed down by 68.32 points, or 0.32 per cent.<br /><br />As per provisional data, FIIs pumped in Rs 40.67 crore today in stocks. Yesterday, net inflows was Rs 135.42 crore.<br /><br />The dollar index was last trading up by 0.12 per cent against a basket of six major global currencies amid low volumes due to a holiday-shortened week. Later in the day, orders for durable goods in November are expected to be out.<br /><br />Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Alpari Financial Services (India) said: "Today dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six major currencies, traded positive as most of the investors are waiting for new year 2014 to open their new books of accounts.<br /><br />"Rupee continued to trade strong for the third day in a row and appreciated... Immediate support for USD/INR spot is at 61.50. The trading range for the USD/INR is expected to be within 61.50 to 62.50." <br /><br />"Rupee has retraced all of the pre-FOMC loses and is now trading at a week's high. However, action is expected to be muted as we approach the end of the year.<br />"We expect a range of 61.00/50 and 62.50/63.00 for the next couple of weeks," Anindya Banerjee, currency analyst, Kotak Securities.<br /><br />Forward dollar premiums rebounded on fresh payments from banks and corporates.<br />The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in May rose to 232-234 paise from 227-1/2-229-1/2 paise previously.<br /><br />Far-forward contracts maturing in November also recovered to 474-476 paise from 465-1/2-467-1/2 paise.<br /><br />The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 61.8668 and for the euro at 84.6510.<br /><br />The rupee improved further against the pound to 101.13 from 101.32 yesterday while it recovered to 84.49 per euro from 84.75.<br /><br />The rupee bounced back to 59.25 per 100 Japanese yen from 59.66.</p>
<p>Rising for the third session in a row, the rupee advanced by 16 paise to close at over one-week high of 61.79 against the US dollar today after exporters sold the American currency ahead of durable goods order data.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Negative closing in Indian stocks and a firm dollar overseas, however, restricted the rupee's rise.<br /><br />The rupee opened higher at 61.84 a dollar from yesterday's close of 61.95 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market. However, it fell back in afternoon trade to a low of 61.97 tracking a drop in stocks and a strong dollar abroad.<br /><br />Later, it bounced back on dollar selling by exporters and some banks to a high of 61.78, before settling at 61.79, a net rise of 16 paise or 0.23 per cent. This is its best closing since 61.73 on December 16.<br /><br />In three trading days, the rupee has shot up by 35 paise or 0.56 per cent against the US dollar.<br /><br />The BSE benchmark Sensex today washed out initial gains and closed down by 68.32 points, or 0.32 per cent.<br /><br />As per provisional data, FIIs pumped in Rs 40.67 crore today in stocks. Yesterday, net inflows was Rs 135.42 crore.<br /><br />The dollar index was last trading up by 0.12 per cent against a basket of six major global currencies amid low volumes due to a holiday-shortened week. Later in the day, orders for durable goods in November are expected to be out.<br /><br />Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Alpari Financial Services (India) said: "Today dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six major currencies, traded positive as most of the investors are waiting for new year 2014 to open their new books of accounts.<br /><br />"Rupee continued to trade strong for the third day in a row and appreciated... Immediate support for USD/INR spot is at 61.50. The trading range for the USD/INR is expected to be within 61.50 to 62.50." <br /><br />"Rupee has retraced all of the pre-FOMC loses and is now trading at a week's high. However, action is expected to be muted as we approach the end of the year.<br />"We expect a range of 61.00/50 and 62.50/63.00 for the next couple of weeks," Anindya Banerjee, currency analyst, Kotak Securities.<br /><br />Forward dollar premiums rebounded on fresh payments from banks and corporates.<br />The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in May rose to 232-234 paise from 227-1/2-229-1/2 paise previously.<br /><br />Far-forward contracts maturing in November also recovered to 474-476 paise from 465-1/2-467-1/2 paise.<br /><br />The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 61.8668 and for the euro at 84.6510.<br /><br />The rupee improved further against the pound to 101.13 from 101.32 yesterday while it recovered to 84.49 per euro from 84.75.<br /><br />The rupee bounced back to 59.25 per 100 Japanese yen from 59.66.</p>