Rupee closes tad higher, off six-week peak on importers' dollar demand
Indian rupee ended slightly stronger on Wednesday after dollar demand from local importers prompted the currency to shed gains from a six-week high hit earlier in the session.
The rupee closed at 83.28 against the U.S. dollar, marginally stronger than its close at 83.3050 in the previous session. The rupee climbed to an intra-day peak of 83.2250, its highest since April 10.
Dollar sales from foreign banks, likely on behalf of custodial clients, lifted the rupee early in the session but the currency slipped as importers stepped in to pick up dollars, a foreign exchange trader at a private bank said.
The dollar index rose 0.1% to 104.75 while Asian currencies were mixed.
The rupee is expected to trade «with a slightly positive bias,» and may inch higher towards 83.15 in the near-term, said Dilip Parmar, a foreign exchange research analyst at HDFC Securities.
Meanwhile, benchmark Indian equity indexes ticked higher with the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 ending the day up by about 0.3% each.
Nervousness about the country's upcoming national election results has prompted foreign investors to pull out over $3 billion from Indian equities in May so far, the highest monthly outflow since January 2023.
While the outflows have pressured the rupee, the Reserve Bank of India's interventions to cap weakness in the currency have ensured that the currency's downside is «well-restricted» near 83.50, the FX trader added.
Investors now await the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting, due later in
