Rupee closes 26 paise higher at 66.22 against US dollar

The rupee recovered by 10 paise to 66.38 against the US dollar in early trade Tuesday on increased selling of the American currency by exporters.

Snapping its 2-day losing streak, the rupee recovered by 26 paise to close at 66.22 against the US dollar today on fresh selling of the greenback by banks and exporters in overseas markets amidst fall in equities.

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The rupee opened higher at 66.38 against yesterday's closing level of 66.48 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and hovered in a range of 66.18 and 66.46 before concluding at 66.22, showing a gain of 26 paise or 0.39 per cent.

The domestic currency has already dropped 44 paise, or 0.67 per cent, in the previous two sessions.

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was down by 0.40 per cent.

In the Tokyo market, the dollar slumped against the yen today, as a fresh bout of weakness in global stock markets following weak Chinese data sent investors scurrying to the perceived safety of the Japanese currency.

"Investors are still keeping their eyes on the stock market," said Kyosuke Suzuki, the head of the foreign-exchange and money-market sales department at Societe Generale in Tokyo.