Rupee ends 14 paise up at 64.12 against dollar

Mumbai: Snapping its 4-day losing streak, the rupee on Wednesday closed 14 paise higher at 64.12 against the US dollar on fresh selling of the greenback by exporters amid weakness of the American currency in overseas markets.

Besides, persistent rise in the equity market boosted the rupee value against the dollar.

The rupee resumed higher at 64.18 as against Tuesday's closing level of 64.26 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) and firmed up further to 64.09 before ending at 64.12, a gain of 14 paise or 0.22%. It had dropped by 42 paise, or 0.66%, in previous four trading sessions.

The local currency moved in a range of 64.09 and 64.19 during the day. The dollar index was trading lower by 0.02 per cent against its major global rivals in late afternoon trade.

However, in New York market, the dollar ended higher against the euro on Tuesday as an unnerving breakdown in talks between Greece and its creditors caused investors to reassess the odds the highly indebted country might default on its debt.

Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended higher by 146.15 points, or 0.55%, following good progress in monsoon amid better Asian cues on firm closing at Wall Street on Tuesday.

Veracity Group CEO Pramit Brahmbhatt said, "Starting the day on a positive note with the help of higher opening in the domestic equity market, the rupee traded strong and appreciated by over 14 paise to close at 64.12."

The trading range for the Spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 63.80 to 64.40. In the forward market, the premium for dollar continued to rule firm on sustained buying pressure from corporates.

The benchmark six-month premium payable in November ended steady at 205-207 paise while those maturing in May, 2016 closed higher at 431-432 paise as against 427-429 paise on Tuesday.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 64.1135 and for the euro at 72.1662. The rupee dropped further against the pound sterling to 100.86 from 100.35 on Tuesday and moved up against the euro to 72.19 from 72.34 previously.

The domestic currency recovered against the Japanese unit to 51.77 per 100 yen from 52.05 previously.