Rupee closes at 45.0950/1050 per USD

Mumbai, Apr 19: Rupee closed stronger by nine paise at 45.0950/1050 per US dollar as compared to the previous close of 45.18/19, said a foreign exchange (forex) dealer here.

Earlier in the morning rupee opened stronger by 12 paise at 45.06/08 per US dollar against the previous close of 45.18/19, added foreign exchange (forex) dealer here.

However, the rupee dipped sharply in the midmorning session and traded nine to ten paise down at 45.1550/1650 at 1058 hrs.

Crude oil price in the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) touched a new high of USD 71.02 per barrel, which kept rupee under sustained pressure.

However, another 74 points rally today in the stock markets took the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index (Sensex) to an all time high close of 11,896 points, which allowed rupee to close stronger.

Also yesterday market regulator SEBI reported an inflow of around 250 crore in the equity markets for Monday, breaking the trend of continuous selling during the previous four sessions by the foreign institutional investors (FIIs), which will also supported domestic currencies rise.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reference rate for the rupee versus US dollar was at 45.14, one paisa up from the previous close.

The six-month forward premia ended lower at 1.09 per cent, as compared to previous close at 1.12 per cent.

The one-year forward premia also ended lower at 1.08 per cent, as compared to the last close at 1.16 per cent.

The cross-currency closing rate for the rupee against the euro was 55.62 (55.36), which was 26 paise up, for pound sterling it was 80.46 (80.00), which was 46 paise up and for the Japanese yen it was 38.52 (38.29), which was 23 paise up from the previous close.

UNI