The rupee today turned stronger by 10 paise at 46.20/21 against the US currency as exporters sold dollars influenced by the greenback's weakness overseas.
Dealers at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market here said the rupee recovered from its overnight loss as exporters sold dollars in the face of mounting portfolio inflows into the domestic equities.
In the London market, the dollar weakened broadly today as dealers took profit on the currency's biggest rise in three weeks yesterday and pushed the euro back to the middle of its range of the last fortnight.
Meanwhile, in a choppy trade, the benchmark Sensex ended lower by 51.87 points or 0.30 per cent today.
The rupee opened on a strong note at 46.24/25 from its last close of 46.30/32 a dollar and later surged to a high of 46.17 before ending at 46.20/21, showing a net gain of 10 paise from its previous close. The rupee had lost nine paise against the dollar yesterday.
Meanwhile, crude oil rose to USD 80 a barrel in London after an industry report showed US crude oil stocks fell steeply last week.
The Reserve Bank of India, however, fixed the reference rate for the US dollar at Rs 46.26 and for the euro at Rs 68.89.
Rupee premiums on the forward dollar continued to decline due to sustained receiving by exporters.
The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in April moved down to 52-1/2-53-1/2 from 55-56 paise on Tuesday and far-forwards maturing in October also finished lower at 112-1/2-113-1/2 paise as against 117-119 paise previously.
In cross-currency trade, the domestic currency recouped against the pound sterling and Japanese Yen but declined against the Euro.
The rupee recovered against the pound to finish at Rs 77.67/69 per pound from the overnight closing level of Rs 77.74/76, while moved down against the Euro to end at Rs 69.16/18 per euro from Rs 69.00/02 yesterday.
However, the rupee ended higher against the Japanese yen at 51.86/88 per 100 yen as compared to Rs 51.98/52.00.
Source : outlookindia.com