Rupee closes firm at 44.59/61 per USD

Mumbai, Apr 3: Rupee closed stronger at 44.59/61 per US dollar as compared to the last close of 44.62/63, said a foreign exchange (forex) dealer here.

Earlier, rupee opened firm at 44.61/63 per US dollar as compared to the last close of 44.62/63, the dealer added.

Later in the mid-morning session, rupee traded almost unchanged at 44.6150/6250 per dollar, the dealer said.

A massive bull run in the domestic equity market held rupee strong at 44.60 level, the 30 share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange was up by 284 points to 11,564 points, an all time high for the Sensex.

Also the USD 2.5 billion addition in the foreign exchange reserves last week and robust foreign fund inflow in the equity markets kept rupee stable.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reference rate for the rupee versus US dollar was 44.61, which was unchanged from the Friday's close.

The six-month forward premia ended lower at 2.01 per cent, as compared to Friday's close at 2.06 per cent.

The one-year forward premia also ended lower at 1.81 per cent, as compared to the last close at 1.86 per cent.

The cross-currency closing rate for the rupee against the euro was 53.66 (53.96) which was 30 paise lower, for pound sterling it was 76.90 (77.42), which was 52 paise lower and for the Japanese yen it was 37.58 (37.89), which was 31 paise lower.

UNI