Rupee trades at 66.79 against US dollar, hits one-week high.

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday strengthened marginally for the third consecutive session to hit a one-week high against the US dollar, tracking gains in its Asian peers.

The home currency opened at 66.81 and touched a high of 66.78, a level last seen on 20 October. At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 66.79 against the US dollar, up 0.06% from its previous close of 66.83. So far this year, it fell 1.10%.

Asian currencies gained after the worst US consumer confidence reading in three months weakened the dollar. South Korean won was up 0.2%, China renminbi 0.15%, South Korean won 0.15%, Malaysian ringgit 0.13% and Singapore dollar 0.1%. However, Thai baht was down 0.14%, Philippines peso 0.08% and Japanese yen fell 0.07%.

Bank of England (BoE) governor Mark Carney said there were limits to the central bank’s ability to ignore the effect of the currency’s slide on inflation. His comments, ahead of a policy meeting next week, doused expectations for more monetary stimulus in Europe, Reuters reported.

India’s benchmark Sensex index was trading at 28,104.72 points, up 0.05% or 13.30 points from its previous close. So far this year, it has gained 7.2%.

So far this year, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have sold $638.60 million in debt and bought $7.36 billion in equity.

The benchmark 10-year government bond yield was trading at 6.764% compared to Tuesday’s close of 6.774%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 98.717, down 0.02% from its previous close of 98.719.

Source : livemint.com