Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Thursday closed at three-week stronger against the US dollar ahead of the key gross domestic product (GDP) data next week.
The home currency ended at 64.57 a dollar - a level last seen on 3 November, up 0.54% from its Wednesday’s close of 64.93. The rupee opened at 64.85 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 64.57 and 64.89, respectively.
Government will issue GDP data for third quarter on 30 November. According to Bloomberg analyst estimates, gross value added (GVA) will be at 6.3% from 5.6% a quarter ago, while GDP will be at 6.5% from 5.7% last quarter.
Local equity markets closed higher for the sixth consecutive session on the hopes of more reforms. According to news reports, government constituted a task force to review the Income-Tax Act and to draft a new Direct Tax Law in consonance with economic needs of the country.
According to fund manager Karthikraj Lakshmanan, these steps taken by the government inspire confidence within investors and raise hopes for a more stable macro-economic environment.
The benchmark Sensex rose 0.08%, or 26.53 points, to 33,588.08. So far this year, it has gained 25.73%.
Bond yield rose for third consecutive sessions and hit over 7% intraday ahead of Rs15,000 crore government bond auction on Friday.
At closing, the 10-year bond yield stood at 6.988%, compared to its previous close of 6.958%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
So far this year, the rupee has gained 5%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $8.17 billion and $22.69 billion in equity and debt, respectively.
Asian currencies were trading higher as dollar weakened on the latest US Federal Reserve minutes, which showed some policy makers expressing concern over low inflation.
China renminbi was up 0.4%, South Korean won 0.34%, China offshore 0.21%, Indonesian rupiah 0.1%. However, Taiwan dollar was down 0.08%, Malaysian ringgit 0.07%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 93.17, down 0.05% from its previous close of 93.220.