Rupee ends 10 paise up at 63.51

Strengthening for the third straight session, the rupee gained 10 paise to close at 63.51 against the US dollar today on continued selling of the greenback by banks and exporters.

Besides, smooth supply of dollars on fresh capital inflows into equities and debts predominantly weighed on trading sentiments, forex dealers said.

Positive comments from the Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan that India will see limited impact of the debt crisis in Greece as it has little direct exposure to the European nation also supported the overall trade.

The rupee resumed weak at 63.64 as compared to overnight closing level of 63.61 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on initial dollar demand from importers and weakened further to hit fresh intra-day low of 63.66, despite a firm opening in the domestic equity markets.

However, the local unit trimmed initial losses and staged a smart rebound following renewed dollar selling to touch a high of 63.49 before concluding at 63.51, showing a gain of 10 paise, or 0.16 per cent, a the level not seen since May 15 this year.

In last three days, it has gained 33 paise.

Meanwhile, foreign investors bought shares worth Rs 75.03 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional data.

In overseas trade, the dollar traded marginally higher against a basket of other major currencies amid concerns over Greece's debt woes and also release of key US economic data later in the day.

The US dollar index was up by 0.06 per cent at 96.53.

Concurrently, crude prices firmed up after a steep drop in the previous session after data showed an unexpected increase in US oil stockpiles last week.