After starting weak, the Indian rupee on Thursday ended stronger by ten paise at 47.60/62 against the dollar, buoyed by firm equity markets amid sustained capital inflows.
Initially, the rupee hit the intra-day low of 48.12 immediately after trading resumed this morning on heavy dollar demand from oil refiners and importers.
In active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic currency moved widely in a range of 48.12 and 47.59 during the day after resuming weaker at 48.05/06 a dollar from its previous close of 47.70/72 a dollar.
Forex dealers said oil companies and importers heavily bought dollars for their monthly import payments as global oil prices moved above USD 63 a barrel in Asian trade.
The rupee, however, drew support from the strong equity markets, with the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex gaining 186 points or 1.32 per cent on fairly heavy short-covering by investors on the back of sustained FII inflows into equity.
Oil refiners normally buy dollars at the end of each month to pay for their imports.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs 47.83 and for the euro at Rs 66.16.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs 47.83 and for the euro at Rs 66.16.
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