Rupee Gains 23 Paise Against US Dollar on Firm Equities.

The Indian rupee surged by 23 paise to 44.35/36 against the US dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on Monday, driven by sustained foreign capital inflows into domestic equity markets.

The domestic unit opened higher at 44.40/41 per dollar, as against last weekend's close of 44.58/59 at the forex market.

Later, it moved in a range from 44.31 to 44.55 before concluding the day at 44.35/36 against the American currency, a rise of 0.52 per cent.

After a decline of nearly 95 points in the previous session on Friday, the Indian benchmark Sensex today rebounded by over 137 points, or 0.68 per cent, on sustained capital inflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) had pumped in a record amount of nearly $24.5 billion in 2010 till October 22.

Dollar selling by exporters and some banks also boosted the rupee sentiment, a forex dealer said.

Dollar sluggishness overseas against major rivals also aided the rupee sentiment. The dollar index, consisting of six major currencies, was down by 0.45 per cent in London this afternoon.

A Group of 20 (G-20) finance ministers forged an agreement on Saturday to refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies and aim for more market-determined exchange rate systems, but failed to stem the trend of a weaker dollar.

Meanwhile, global crude oil was trading at above $82 a barrel in London on Monday.

The rupee premium for the forward dollar closed higher on fresh paying pressure from banks and corporates. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in March ended higher at  124-126 paise as against 121-123 paise last Friday, while the premium on far-forward contracts maturing in September also rose to 233-1/2-235-1/2 paise from 227-1/2-229-1/2 paise previously.

The Reserve Bank of India has fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs 44.36 and the euro at Rs 62.33.

In cross-currency trade, the domestic unit rose against the pound sterling, but declined against the euro and the Japanese yen.

The rupee recovered marginally to Rs 69.77/79 against the pound sterling from last weekend's close of Rs 69.96/98, but fell back to Rs 62.22/24 against the euro from Rs 62.09/11 previously.

It also declined against the yen to Rs 54.99/55.01 per 100 yen, as against the previous close of Rs 54.93/95.

Source : profit.ndtv.com