Rupee ends higher at 61.84 against the dollar

In listless trade, the Indian rupee on Wednesday edged up by two paise to close at 61.84 against the Greenback on stray dollar selling by exporters.

Firm dollar overseas and sustained capital inflows, however, restricted the rupee rise, a forex dealer said.

Some dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners, to meet their month-end requirements also capped the rupee rise, he added.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit commenced a tad higher at 61.85 a dollar from previous close of 61.86.

It moved in a restricted range of 61.8050 and 61.8975 before concluding at 61.84, a rise of a mere two paise or 0.03 per cent.

On Tuesday, it was up by eight paise or 0.13 per cent. The Indian benchmark S&P BSE Sensex today rose by 48.14 points, or 0.17 per cent.

FPIs/FIIs bought shares worth Rs 1,168.94 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. The dollar index, consisting of six major global rivals, was up by 0.11 per cent. Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Veracity Group, said: "Rupee traded flat and closed near yesterdays level for the day taking cues from local equities which traded flat.

We have seen dollar selling by state run banks offset the dollar demand from importers towards month end." The trading range for the spot rupee is expected to be within 61.50 to 62.30, he added.