Rupee up 3 paise amid mild dollar selling by exporters

Slightly weak dollar overseas and positive capital inflows also supported the rupee rise, forex traders said.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit resumed higher at 53.79 a dollar and touched a high of 53.75 on strong rally in equities.

Later, the rupee fell back to a low of 53.92 before concluding at 53.82, showing a rise of three paise or 0.06%. Yesterday, the rupee had settled stable at 53.85.

Dealers said the country’s trade balance numbers were inline with expectations as India’s exports rose an annual 0.8% in January and imports for the month rose 6 per cent, leaving a trade deficit of USD 20 billion.

The dollar index was also down by 0.03% against a basket of six major currencies, while New York crude oil was trading near $97.5 a barrel in Europe today.

“The rupee was seen trading in a very thin range of 17 paise. The appreciation in the Euro and the weakness in the dollar index restricted the downside in the rupee. The domestic data like trade deficit did not have long lasting impact on rupee or stock markets,” India Forex Advisors founder and CEO Abhishek Goenka said.

“Tomorrow’s WPI numbers shall be in focus as they are expected to move below the three-year low on smaller rise or contraction in IIP numbers,” Alpari Financial Services (India) CEO Pramit Brahmbhatt said.

The premium for the

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