The rupee was trading higher against the US dollar on continued dollar sales by foreign banks likely on behalf of their clients on Wednesday.
At 2.45pm, the local unit was trading at 60.99, up 0.36% from previous close. It opened at 61.075 a dollar against its Tuesday’s close of 61.205. It touched a high and a low of 60.92 and 61.17 per dollar, respectively.
“Some US-based foreign banks are selling dollars and it looks like it’s on behalf of its corporate clients. It’s these flows which are keeping the rupee up because this being the last month of the fiscal there is demand for dollars from importers like oil companies at around 60.90 levels,” said a dealer with a foreign bank.
Tuesday’s annexation of Ukrainian region of Crimea by Russia has increased geopolitical risks as tensions increase between the US and Russia.
However, foreign dollar inflows have so far supported the rupee.
India’s benchmark index, the Sensex, was trading at 21,826.29 points, down 0.03%.
So far this year, the rupee has risen 1.39% while foreign institutional investors have bought local equities worth $1.59 billion in the Indian market.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 8.774%, compared with its Tuesday’s close of 8.806%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 79.451, up 0.05% from the previous close of 79.414.​
