Rupee improves further by 12 paise vs dlr to end at 49.92/94

Mumbai, May 4: In tandem with the sharp rally in equity markets, the Indian rupee today ended up by another 12 paise to a one-week high of 49.92/94, despite late dollar demand.
The weakness in the dollar overseas against its major rivals also helped the rupee rise.

In active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local currency resumed sharply higher at 49.57/59 a dollar from its previous close of 50.04/05.

It initially touched a high of 49.55 on firm Asian equity markets, including India.

Late dollar buying by foreign as well as local banks on behalf of their clients, mainly oil refiners, later weighed on the rupee and it fell to a low of 49.95 before concluding the day at 49.92/94 a dollar, still showing a gain of 12 paise. On April 29, the rupee had gained 47 paise.

The Indian benchmark Sensex today ended up by a whopping 731.50 points, the biggest rise in 2009, or 6.41 per cent, after gaining over 401 points on April 29.

Most of the Asian indices ended in the green.

Sustained capital inflows, which stood at over USD 1.3 billion in April, also helped the rupee rally.

Meanwhile, global crude oil prices were trading near USD 53 a barrel in Asian trade today. PTI