Rupee opens higher at 66.23 against US dollar
Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday strengthened for the seventh consecutive sessions against the US dollar after the current account deficit for the September quarter narrowed on year on year basis.
The local currency opened at 66.23 a dollar and touched a high of 66.19—a level last seen on 20 November. At 9.10am, the rupee was trading at 66.26 a dollar, up 0.11% from its previous close of 66.33.
India’s current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to $8.2 billion (1.6% of gross domestic product) in the September quarter from $10.9 billion (2.2% of GDP) in the year-ago quarter.
The Sensex was trading higher in seven out of ten trading sessions. India’s benchmark equity index, BSE Sensex, was trading at 25,697.66 points, up 0.42% or 107.01 points.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond stood at 7.759% compared with its Tuesday’s close of 7.76%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The traders are cautions in a holiday shortened week ahead. Markets will remain closed on Friday for Christmas.
Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has weakened 4.8% against the dollar, while foreign institutional investors have bought $2.84 billion from local equity markets and $7.77 billion from the debt market.
Most of the Asian currencies were trading lower against the dollar. Malaysian ringgit was down 0.2%, Philippines peso 0.15%, China offshore 0.12%, Indonesian rupiah 0.12%, Singapore dollar 0.1%. However, South Korean won and Taiwan dollar were up 0.1% each.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 98.252, up 0.02% from its previous close of 98.235.
US consumer spending supported growth in the world’s largest economy, and data showed gross domestic product climbed at a revised 2% annualized rate last quarter, according to Bloomberg.
Brent crude has fell seventeen out of twenty trading sessions. Since 25 November, it fell over 21%. In the opening trade, Brent crude was trading at $36.36 a barrel, up 0.7% from its previous close.
Read full article: Live Mint
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