LM:Rupee strengthens to 61.88 as dollar loses steam
Mumbai: The Indian rupee appreciated the most in a fortnight, climbing 1% in intra-day trade on Thursday, as dollar weakened globally following a failure by the US lawmakers to resolve a budget impasse that damped demand for the unit worldwide.
At 2pm, the Indian currency was trading at 61.8825 per dollar, up 0.93% from its previous close of 62.47. The rupee had earlier opened the session at 62.16.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 79.899 unchanged from its previous close of 79.90.
On 30 September, Democrats and Republicans in the US Senate failed to agree on a funding measure for the healthcare legislation, Obamacare, leading to the government’s first partial US shutdown in 17 years.
Since January this year, the rupee has weakened about 11.14% and has lost the third most after Indonesian rupiah and Japanese yen in Asia.
Locally, India’s benchmark equity Sensex was trading at 19,834.89 points, up 1.63% from its previous close.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 8.710% compared with Tuesday’s close of 8.736%.
The interbank call money rate was at 9.55%.
On Wednesday, markets were close due to Gandhi Jayanti.
