Rupee gains by five paise to 44.32/33 per USD on fund inflow

Mumbai, March 3 (UNI) The rupee today closed stronger by five paise at 44.32/33 per US dollar as against the last close of 44.37/38, a dealer at the forex market here said.

Earlier in the morning Rupee opened stronger by four paise at 44.33/34, as against the last close of 44.37/38, a dealer at the forex market said.

The rupee traded in the range of 44.33 to 44.35 per US dollar in the mid-morning session.

The inflow of Rs 576 crore in the stock markets on Wednesday, as reported by SEBI, made rupee bullish against the dollar.

But the stock markets ended in the red today after remaining volatile during the day and closed at 10,595 compared to its last close of 10,626 points.

The crude oil prices shot up to USD 63.65 per barrel in the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) some what limiting rupees gain.

RBI fixed the reference rate for the rupee at 44.36 per USD.

The six-month forward premia ended higher at 2.65 per cent from Thursday's close at 2.36 per cent.

The one-year forward premia also closed higher at 2.05 per cent, as compared to the last close of 1.86 per cent.

The cross-currency rate for the rupee against the euro was 53.25 (53.00), up by 25 paise; for pound sterling it was 77.80(77.60), closing up by 20 paise from its last close and for the Japanese yen it was 38.05(38.18), down by by 13 paise.

UNI RRP MJ AG1823