The rupee had closed nearly unchanged at 73.57 against the dollar on Tuesday
- The rupee had opened higher at 73.18 against the American currency on Wednesday, sharply higher than its previous close of 73.57.
- Suspected intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the forex market helped the rupee rise to 73 levels against the greenback, say analysts.
- “RBI providing support to the rupee around the 74/dollar mark means that the rupee could hover in the range of 73 to 74 for the time being,” Jaikishan Parmar, senior equity analyst at Angel Broking, told NDTV.
- Falling crude oil prices eased concerns over forex outflows and supported selling of the US currency by exporters.
- The greenback's weakness against some currencies overseas also helped the recovery in the domestic currency.
- Crude oil rose towards $77 a barrel on Wednesday after hitting a two-month low as the focus returned to looming US sanctions on oil exporter Iran, although concern about a weaker demand outlook weighed.
- Brent, the global benchmark for crude oil, was up 52 cents at $76.96 a barrel at 1:25 pm. It fell earlier in the day to $75.11 - the lowest since August 24.The domestic unit however pared some gains and settled the day up by 41 paise at 73.16 against the US dollar, a level not seen since October 1.
- Meanwhile, domestic equity markets reversed the declining trend witnessed in the past four consecutive sessions, with the Sensex rising 186 points to close above the key 34,000 mark on Wednesday.
- "The rupee could outperform its peers if crude prices manage to sustain at current levels," said IFA Global, a forex advisory firm. IFA Global expects the rupee to move in a likely range of 73.00-73.38 with a downside bias against the greenback.
- On Tuesday, the local currency had ended almost flat at 73.57 against the US currency.
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