Mumbai: The Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar ahead of the gross domestic product data due after 5.30pm on Wednesday.
The rupee closed at 64.51, up 0.24% from its Tuesday’s close of 64.67. The rupee opened at 64.53 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 64.49 and 64.58 respectively.
The benchmark Sensex index fell 0.04% or 13.60 points to closed at 31,145.80. So far this year, it has gained 16.8%.
According to Bloomberg analyst poll, GDP will be at 7.1% for the March quarter from 7% a quarter ago.
The government will also issue fiscal deficit data for April-March after 5.30pm. Fiscal deficit for April-February stood at Rs6.06 trillion or 113.4% of budget estimates for 2016-17 as against 107.1% of budget in the same period last year.
So far this year, the rupee has gained 5%, while foreign investors bought $7.75 billion and $10.34 billion in local equity and debt markets, respectively.
The 10-year bond yield closed at 6.662% compared to its previous close of 6.663%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Asian currencies were trading higher. China Offshore spot was up 0.86%, China renminbi 0.64%, South Korean won 0.5%, Taiwan dollar 0.28%, Thai Baht 0.24%, Singapore dollar 0.13%. However, Philippines peso was down 0.08%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 97.119, down 0.17% from its previous close of 97.28.