Rupee closes at 72.35 against Dollar

Mumbai: The Rupee furthered its gains by another 11 paise to settle at 72.35 against the US dollar on Wednesday amid persistent selling of the greenback by banks and exporters.

Besides, positive domestic equities and weaker American currency in the overseas market also helped the rupee consolidate gains. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 72.35 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 72.26 and a low of 72.41. It finally ended at 72.35 against the American currency, registering a rise of 11 paise from its previous close.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.10 per cent to 90.08. "The Indian Rupee appreciated against the US dollar supported by persistent greenback sales by foreign banks and weaker dollar," said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

Additionally, dollar inflows have also been supportive of the rupee, Iyer said adding that the dollar index remained weak this Wednesday afternoon trade in Asia also lent support to the local unit.

"Technically, the USDINR Spot pair holds a support near 72.25-72.30 levels and below which could see a bearish momentum up to 72.10-71.95 levels. However, a bounce back from 72.30 could take the pair up to 72.45-72.60 levels," Iyer noted.

On the equity market front, benchmark Sensex surged 1,030.28 points and the NSE Nifty jumped over 270 points on Wednesday, after trading hours were extended following a technical glitch at the NSE. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,569.04 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.76 per cent to $65.87 per barrel.