MUMBAI: The Indian rupee ended slightly higher on Wednesday as dollar demand from local oil companies and importers ate into the local currency’s early gains, while an uptick in the dollar index also weighed.

The rupee closed at 83.3225 against the US dollar, moderately higher than its close of 83.3425 in the previous session.

The dollar index was up about 0.2% at 105.8, trimming its losses from Tuesday after data showed that US business activity eased to a four-month low in April due to weaker demand.

The dollar-rupee pair saw “sustained bids” below 83.30, which helped “form a floor,” a foreign exchange salesperson at a private bank said.

The appetite to lap up dollars on the dip eroded the rupee’s gains to a two-week high of 83.2625 earlier in the session.

Most Asian currencies were higher, with the Korean won and Indonesian rupiah advancing by 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.