Rupee gains 5 paise against $

The rupee on Thursday gained five paise to close at 61.17 against the dollar on fresh selling of the dollar by exporters, snapping the two-day losing trend.

Signs of sustained capital inflows aided the rupee's recovery but weak equities capped the rise to some extent, a forex dealer said. At the interbank foreign exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit commenced strong at 61.01 a dollar from previous close of 61.22 and improved further to a high of 60.90.

The rupee, however, met with strong resistance and fell to 61.19 before settling at 61.17, a rise of five paise from its previous close. In the previous two days, it had lost 37 paise. The dollar index was down by 0.31 per cent against its major global rivals.

Government securities (G-Sec) ended mixed on bouts of buying and selling while,the overnight call money market rates declined further due to lack of demand from borrowing banks amidst ample liquidity in the banking system.

The 8.83 per cent 10-year benchmark bond maturing in 2023 dipped to Rs 100.5850 from Rs 100.7150 previously, while its yield moved-up to 8.74 per cent from 8.72 per cent.

The 7.28 per cent government security maturing in 2019 fell to Rs 93.42 per cent from Rs 93.50, while its yield moved-up to 8.88 per cent from 8.86 per cent.

The overnight call money rate finished lower at 7.00 per cent from 8.10 per cent on Wednesday and moved in a range of 8.35 per cent and 7.00 per cent.

The 8.28 per cent government security maturing in 2027 also dipped to Rs 93.05 from Rs 93.20, while yield eased to 9.19 per cent from 9.17 per cent.

However, the 8.12 per cent government security maturing in 2020 climbed to Rs 95.29 from Rs 95.2450, while yield edged-down to 9.06 per cent from 9.07 per cent.