Rupee snaps 2-day climb to end at 61.91 against the dollar

Snapping a two-day upmove, Indian rupee on Wednesday eased by three paise to end at 61.91 against the Greenback on fresh dollar demand from importers.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit resumed stable at its overnight closing level of 61.88 a dollar.

It was trapped in a narrow range of 61.84 and 61.95 before settling at 61.91, logging a fall of three paise or 0.05 per cent.

"The Indian Rupee ended flat against the US currency. Initially, the Rupee weakened as the Dollar rallied against the basket of currencies on upbeat data. Most Asian currencies were weak against the Dollar," said Suresh Nair, Director, Admisi Forex India Pvt Ltd.

The rupee had gained 15 paise in previous two days.

The Indian benchmark S&P BSE Sensex today finished almost flat at 28,442.71 from Tuesday's close of 28444.01. FPIs/FIIs picked up shares worth $21.16 million on Tuesday, as per Sebi data.

The dollar index was up by 0.22 per cent against a basket of six major global rivals.

In New York market, the dollar was higher against major rivals and surged to a new 7-year high against the yen after US bond yields rose in the previous session. In the forward market, premium recovered on fresh payments from banks and corporates.

The benchmark six-month premium payable in May edged up to 222.5-224.5 paise from last close of 222-224 paise and forward contracts maturing in November, 2015, bounced back to 434-436 paise from 430-432 paise.

The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for dollar at 61.8866 and for the Euro at 76.5723.

The rupee improved further against the pound to 96.96 from 97.11 on Tuesday and also firmed up to 76.36 per euro from 77.02.

It, however, continued its upward march to end at 51.85 per 100 Japanese yen from 52.00.