Rupee gains 20 paise against USD

Mumbai, Aug 01 (UNI) The Rupee today bounced back to close firm at 42.35/36 per US Dollar, appreciating by 21 paise from its previous close of 42.56/57 as oil prices eased and stock market gained on positive global cues.

The Indian currency strenghthened against the greenback today as demand of dollars from refineries came down after global oil prices continued to ease, dealers said.

Rupee opened almost flat at 42.55/56 in early trade and sustianed the gains to an intraday high at 42.32/33 per dollar before closing firm in late trade.

''The inter bank foreign exchange witnessed strong selling of dollars by the foreign and nationalised banks that pushed Rupee to a higher level,'' a senior dealer with a leading private sector bank said.

Indian bourses traded firm following the positive sentiments in Asian markets today, raising expectation of good inflows, and this also helped the Rupee to recover against the greenback, he added.

Dealers expect the rupee's near-term prospects to be dictated by moves in global oil prices. Oil was trading near USD 123 a barrel today.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today fixed the reference rate for US dollar at Rs 42.37 per unit, down by 12 paise against its yesterday's rate of Rs 42.49 per dollar.

The six-month and annualised forward premium was quoted at 4.68 (4.97) per cent and 3.96 (4.14) per cent, respectively.

Rupee ended the day stringer at 65.98 (66.54/55) per unit against the Euro. It closed at 83.74 (84.36/37) per unit against the Pound Sterling, while Rupee ended flat at 39.40/41 per hundred units against the Japanese Yen.

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