Rupee closes stronger against US dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Friday strengthened marginally against the US dollar tracking gains in the local equity and Asian currencies market.

The rupee closed at 64.32 a dollar, up 0.17% from its Thursday’s close of 64.43. The rupee opened at 64.39 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 64.30 and 64.40, respectively.

The 10-year bond yield ended at 6.436%, compared to its previous close of 6.452%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The benchmark Sensex index rose 0.39% or 124.49 points to closed at 32,028.89. So far this year, it has risen 20%.

So far this year, the rupee has gained 5.42%, while foreign investors bought $8.72 billion and $16.61 billion in local equity and debt markets, respectively.

Asian currencies were trading higher as the dollar takes a beating amid concern investigators are widening a probe into U.S. President Donald Trump.

South Korean won was up 0.67%, Thai Baht 0.36%, Philippines peso 0.25%, Japanese yen 0.16%, Indonesian rupiah 0.14%, Malaysian ringgit 0.12%, Taiwan dollar 0.11%, Singapore dollar 0.09%. However, China renminbi was down 0.13% and China Offshore spot 0.1%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.199, down 0.11% from its previous close of 94.306.