In thin trade on the last day of 2013, the rupee climbed 11 paise to 61.80 against the dollar, bringing to an end a year that saw the local currency crash to an all—time low and recover to still close with an annual loss of 11 per cent.
The rupee advanced today as local stocks rose and on fresh dollar selling by exporters. However, the gains were limited by a strengthening dollar overseas.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 61.88 a dollar from the overnight close of 61.91. It traded in a range of 61.77 to 61.93 before settling at 61.80, a rise of 11 paise or 0.18 per cent. Yesterday, the rupee had fallen six paise.
The rupee has lost 681 paise, or 11.02 per cent, during 2013. The year saw the rupee touch an intra—day high of 53.26 on February 2 and a low of 68.85, which was also a lifetime low, on August 28.
The benchmark 30—share S&P BSE Sensex today edged up 27.67 points. Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth USD 20.79 million yesterday, taking the total this year as of December 30 to USD 20.1 billion, according to Sebi data.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six major global rivals, was up 0.16 per cent in range—bound trade on the last day of 2013.
“Today rupee appreciated taking cues from local equities which closed on a positive note, but then, after a three—day fall, the dollar index traded strong, which capped the rupee gain,” said Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO of Alpari Financial Services (India). “The currency depreciated by over 11 per cent in 2013, making it one of Asia’s worst performers.”
