The rupee settled at 70.28 against 70.4850 at the previous close. The
local unit moved in 70.26 -70.67 per dollar band intra-day.
The Indian rupee rose to a fresh near-two-month-high against the
dollar, as likely foreign fund inflows amid strong local shares
outweighed early losses from better-than-expected U.S.
macroeconomic data that boosted greenback demand. Weakness in
the rupee in early trade was owing to higher dollar index. However,
dollar inflows for year-end payments and foreign fund inflows in
domestic markets helped the rupee recoup losses. Greenback
demand from state-run banks, which could be on behalf of the
central bank and oil importers, kept the gains limited.
Global Currency
The U.S. dollar held steady near a two-week high against its major
peers in early European hours on Wednesday, while the Australian
dollar sank to its lowest level of the year after data showed the
economy slowed to a near standstill in the fourth quarter. The dollar
was a tad lower against the yen at 111.85 (USD/JPY), after hitting a
high of 112.13 a day earlier, its strongest since Dec. 20.
The euro was down a shade at $1.1298 EUR= , hovering near twoweek
lows versus the greenback amid bets that the European
Central Bank meeting on Thursday would indicate a delay in raising
rates until next year and the ECB will soon re-launch long-term bank
loans to fight an economic slowdown.
Global Markets
Oil prices fell on Wednesday as bullish output forecasts by two big
U.S. producers and a build in weekly U.S. crude stockpiles
outweighed OPEC-led production cuts. WTI crude oil futures CLc1
were down 0.7 percent, or 41 cents, at $56.15 per barrel.
Gold prices inched up on Wednesday, after recovering from a more
than five-week low in the previous session, supported by a pause in
global equities' rally, while a firmer dollar curbed gains.
