Rupee appreciates by nearly 17 paise against dollar

Mumbai, July 31 (UNI) Reserve bank's quarterly policy review seemed to have its impact on the Rupee today as the unit appreciated by a massive margin of 17 paise to end the trade at 40.37 per dollar as against the previous close of 40.54/55 per dollar.

Reserve bank, which issued a slew of measures to tighten the liquidity levels in the market, had hiked the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 7.00 percent.

Rupee started the day at 40.46/48 per dollar and later touched a day's high of 40.35 per dollar in the afternoon session before closing at 40.37 against the US currency.

Rupee is expected to strenghten further in coming sessions where the lowered liquidity margins are likely to push up the call rates also, said dealers.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fixed the reference rate for today at Rs 40.44 per US dollar, up by ten paise, compared to its yesterday's rate of Rs 40.54 per dollar.

UNI