Rupee ends firmer on exporter dollar sales

Reuters: The rupee closed higher on Tuesday, as exporter dollar sales surpassed importer demand for the US currency in the absence of dollar buying by state-run banks, dealers said.

The spot rupee ended at 153.00/05 per dollar, up from Monday’s close of 153.10/25.

“There was selling across the board, mainly it was from the exporter conversions. There was not much of importer demand,” said a currency dealer, requesting anonymity.

The rupee has been under pressure since January after the central bank stopped defending the currency and started buying dollars to build up the country’s depleted foreign currency reserves.

The island nation has seen Rs. 27.8 billion ($ 181.82 million) of inflows into equities and Rs. 2.56 billion worth inflows into government securities so far this year, official data showed.