Rupee settles 3 paise higher against US dollar

Mumbai, June 08: The rupee settled on a muted note, up 3 paise, at 75.55 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday as dollar-buying by banks as well as importers and rebounding crude prices restricted gains of the local unit.

Forex traders said positive domestic equities, sustained foreign fund flows and the revival of business activity are supporting the rupee, but dollar demand and rising crude oil prices are weighing on the domestic unit.

The rupee opened at 75.59 against the US dollar and finally settled at 75.55, registering a rise of 3 paise over its previous close.

It had settled at 75.58 against the greenback on Friday.

During the four-hour session, the rupee saw an intra-day high of 75.50 and a low of 75.64.

On the equities front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was quoting 17.60 points higher at 34,304.84 and broader Nifty was up 20.45 points at 10,162.60.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market, as they bought shares worth Rs 97.61 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.97 per cent to USD 42.71 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.09 per cent to 96.85.