Mumbai: The rupee strengthened against the US dollar in line with lacklustre trade in global markets ahead of crucial US non-farm payroll data to be published later Friday. The domestic currency closed at 62.29 per dollar, up 0.16%, from the previous close of 62.39. Earlier, the unit had opened at 62.31 per dollar. It touched a high and a low of 62.25 and 62.42, respectively. Traders avoided taking fresh positions ahead of the release of crucial economic data from the US, where the labour department is set to announce the most watched employment figures for January. The so-called non-farm payrolls are expected to rise 185,000 in January, according to a Thomson Reuters poll of 101 economists. That in turn is likely to support a US Federal Reserve taper in its bond buying programme. Locally in India, the success of the government’s auction of telecom spectrum has supported the rupee. Inflows into the government exchequer of more than Rs.50,000 crore are likely to help keep the fiscal deficit at or below the targeted 4.8% mark. Besides, it may also lead to an inflow of dollars, specially from global companies like Vodafone Plc. The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond ended at 8.74% as compared with its previous close of 8.72%. It opened at 8.72% and touched a high and a low of 8.75% and 8.71% respectively. India’s benchmark equity index, Sensex on BSE ended at 20,376.56 points, up 0.32%, from previous close. The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 80.96, up 0.07% from the previous close of 80.91.

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