The rupee on Tuesday gained three paise to close at 54.26 against the dollar in line with strong local equities amid some selling of the US currency by exporters.
However, foreign investors pulling out funds from domestic stocks and a firm dollar overseas capped rupee’s gain’s to some extent, forex dealers said.
The local unit commenced a tad lower at 54.30 from Thursday’s close of 54.29 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.
The rupee moved in a range of 54.24-54.36 before settling at 54.26, a rise of three paise.
The Forex market was closed on March 29 and April 1 for ’Good Friday’ and annual closing, respectively.
Foreign institutional investors sold domestic shares worth USD 8.36 million (Rs 45.41 crore), according to provisional BSE data.
“Since past few sessions, we have been witnessing a very thin range in rupee as there are mixed signals coming from local and global front. Locally, our current account deficit for December quarter disappointed as it rose by 6.7 per cent to USD 32 billion,” said Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, India Forex Advisors.
“Going ahead, we expect this week to be volatile, as major central banks will be announcing their respective monetary policies,” he added.
The dollar index was trading up by 0.04 per cent against a basket of six major global rivals.
Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex rose 176.20 points to 19,040.25.
The premium for the forward dollar ended remarkably higher on paying pressure from corporates and banks.
The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in September ended strong at 196-198 paise from last Thursday’s close of 190-191-/2 paise.
Far-forward contracts maturing in March also settled firm at 368-370-1/2 paise from 359-361 paise.
The RBI fixed the reference rate for the US dollar at 54.3345 and for euro at 69.8160.
The rupee fell back against the pound sterling to 82.40 from previous close of 82.12 and also turned negative to end at 69.62 against the euro from 69.49.
It, however, dropped further against the Japanese yen to 58.18 per 100 yen from last close of 57.63.
