The rupee settled at 69.51 against 69.34 at the previous close. The local unit moved in 69.3075-69.56 per dollar band intra-day.
Dollar/rupee ended up Thursday on oil importers' demand tracking a sharp rise in crude oil prices in international markets. During mid-day trades, report of fire in oil tanker in Sea of Oman pushed oil prices sharply up. Banks started buying mostly on behalf of oil importers. Dollar/rupee ended at Rs 69.51/$1 Thursday compared to previous close of Rs 69.34/$1. Oil prices surged after a report that after a oil tanker was attacked in the Gulf of Oman, a key waterway used to transport energy supplies from the Middle East.
Global Currency
The dollar held its gains early on Thursday after rebounding from 11-week lows, as peers such as the euro, pound and commodity currencies sagged due to troubles of their own. The dollar index .DXY versus a basket of six major currencies was steady at 96.957 after rising more than 0.3% overnight. The index had dropped to 96.459 on Monday, its lowest since late March, following a sharp decline in long-term U.S. Treasury yields, which fell to near two-year lows last week after a soft U.S. jobs report bolstered expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Euro was a shade higher at $1.1293 EUR= after retreating 0.35% overnight, while the pound stood little changed at $1.2692 GBP=D4 following a loss of 0.3% on Wednesday.
Global Markets
Oil prices jumped as much as 4% on Thursday after a suspected attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman near Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil consumption passes.
Gold prices rose to a week high on Thursday, supported by expectations of an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve following soft inflation data, which also weighed on the dollar. U.S. gold futures GCv1 were 0.2% higher at $1,340 an ounce.
