The rupee was trading at 60.99/61.01 versus its close of 61.2750/2850 and sharply above the session low of 61.66 following the government's announcement of a hike in import and factory gate duties on precious metals including gold.
The government raised the import duty on gold to 10 per cent from 8 per cent and that on silver to 10 per cent from 6 per cent, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
Traders said the hike in import duty was a positive as it would help further bring down gold imports and help narrow the trade gap and indirectly the record current account gap.
The market is also awaiting details of the overseas borrowing rules liberalisation and the non-resident Indian deposit schemes from the Reserve Bank of India.
