Rupee gains 24 paise on capital inflows

The rupee on Wednesday appreciated 24 paise to close at a nearly one-week high of 60.95 against the dollar following selling of the US currency by exporters and some banks, amid sustained heavy capital inflows.

The local currency that logged its best daily gain since March 6 seemed unperturbed by expectations that US Fed, which concludes a key meeting later tonight, will again taper its stimulus by another $10 billion and move away from technical guidance on when it will raise rates, said traders.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the rupee commenced strong at 61.07 a dollar from previous close of 61.19, but fell back to a low of 61.17 on hesitancy in local equities.It, later, bounced back to a high of 60.91 on fresh dollar selling by exporters and some banks coupled with foreign fund inflows worth Rs 1,069 crore in stocks on Wednesday.

The rupee ended at 60.95 for the day, showing a rise of 24 paise or 0.39 pe cent. This is the strongest closing level for the rupee since 60.94 on March 11. The day’s 24-paise rise is the also best since 64-paise jump on March 6.

Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Alpari Financial Services, (India) said, “Investors are waiting for the outcome of Federal Reserve policy review due later today for the further direction. Expect the rupee to trade near 60.50 levels in coming days on positive sentiments.

The trading range for the spot rupee is expected to be within 60.50 to 61.50.” The benchmark six-month premium payable in August dropped to 230-232 paise from 235-237 paise previously.

Far forward contracts maturing in February, 2015 also dipped to 475-477 paise from 479-481 paise.