At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit moved between 53.10 and 53.30 before settling for the day at 53.21/22, up 9 paise against the dollar. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark index Sensex ended up by 421.44 points at 15,939.36 today, supporting the increase in rupee`s value to a large extent. A smart rally in equities indicate that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) might return to markets. FIIs sold shares worth USD 7.33 million on Monday.
The dollar index, consisting of six major rivals, was down by nearly 0.6 per cent while New York crude oil was trading above USD 101 a barrel in European market today. The rupee premium for the forward dollar dropped on fresh receivings by exporters. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in June dipped to 155-1/2-157-1/2 paise from 163-165 paise on Monday and far-forward contracts maturing in December also closed weak at 255-1/2-257-1/2 paise in the previous session.
RBI fixed the reference rate for the US dollar at 53.2288 and for the euro at 69.1265. The rupee continued to rule weak against the pound sterling to end at 83.07/09 from Monday`s close of 82.62/64 and moved down further against the euro to end at 69.47/49 from 69.02/04. It also declined against the Japanese yen to Rs 69.42/44 per 100 yen from last close of Rs 69.31/33.