The rupee was firm in relation to the dollar on the money market on Wednesday in the process of trading, dealers said. The rupee inched up by two paisas in terms of the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 104.83 and Rs 104.84 respectively, they said.
In the third Asian trade, the dollar spurted higher in Asian trade as Federal Reserve policy-setters fanned expectations of a rate hike this month, overshadowing a key speech by US President Donald Trump that offered little details on his stimulus.
The greenback traded at 113.16 yen, up 0.35 percent from late US levels, while the euro dropped 0.1 percent against the dollar to $1.0565. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major peers was last up 0.1 percent at 101.45.
In a long-awaited speech to the Congress, Trump opened the door to a broad overhaul of the US immigration system and vowed to pursue massive tax relief for the middle class but stopped short of giving any details. "There was no mention of the size and the schedule of his tax cuts and spending. He just repeated what he had said," said Daisuke Uno, chief strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Bank. The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 66.85, the greenback was at 4.4480 and the US currency was at 6.8776 versus the Chinese yuan. Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Wednesday: 79.38-79.39 (previous 79.37-79.37).
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Open Bid Rs.107.00
Open Offer Rs.107.20
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Bid Rate Rs.104.83
Offer Rate Rs.104.84
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According to currency dealers, the US dollar commenced trading on a depressed note and kept on declining during the day's trading session. At the close, it slid to Rs 107.00 and Rs 107.30 on buying and selling counters, respectively, as compared to the overnight closing rates of Rs 107.10 and Rs 107.50, respectively, they added.
Likewise, the local currency also followed the same suit against the pound sterling. The pound's buying and selling rates went down from the Tuesday's closing rates of Rs 132.40 and Rs 133.20 to Rs 131.30 and Rs 132.30, respectively, they said.
The dollar opened at Rs 108.10 (buying) and Rs 108.20 (selling) and it closed at the same rates. Pound Sterling opened at Rs 130 (buying) and Rs 131.50 (selling). It closed at the same rates.