Rupee Closes Higher After 3-Day Decline

The rupee on Wednesday snapped its three-day losing streak and settled higher by 11 paise at 71.33 against the US dollar on increased selling of the American currency by exporters and banks. Besides, the rupee upmove was supported by weaker greenback against its major rivals, although intense selling in domestic equities impacted traders sentiment, capping gains in the domestic currency value. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) on Wednesday, the rupee opened on a firm note at 71.19. It gained further to hit a high of 71.15 following dollar selling by exporters, before finally closing at 71.33, up 11 paise over its last close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had skidded by 16 paise -- its third straight session of loss -- to close at 71.44 against the dollar.

Forex traders attributed the US dollar slide to renewed concerns over ongoing US-China trade tiff which experts believe dragging the global economy towards a major financial meltdown.

Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading at $61.97 per barrel, up by 0.81 per cent.

Domestic equity benchmark Sensex on Wednesday sank over 336 points to end at 36,108.47 in choppy trade, tracking tepid sentiment globally.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net of Rs 78.53 crore, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were sellers to the tune of Rs 84.15 crore on Tuesday, provisional data showed.

The Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 71.2039 and for rupee/euro at 80.9394. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 92.2067 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 64.94.