The rupee maintained overnight levels against the dollar on the currency market on Wednesday in the process of trading activity, dealers said.
In the third Asian trade, the safe-haven yen gained sharply, but the dollar held onto hefty overnight gains against other currencies on Wednesday, as fears over the coronavirus pandemic kept markets frazzled despite massive injections of liquidity by central banks.
The yen rose 0.8% to 106.80 per dollar with a flight to safety in the Asia afternoon as stock markets around the region extended losses.
The pound and euro were ahead, but struggled to win back more than a fraction of the ground ceded to the dollar on Tuesday. The Aussie and kiwi languished below 60 cents.
Markets have crumbled this month as investors liquidated nearly everything for cash-driving up the dollar's value and the cost of borrowing the greenback abroad.
The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 74.168, the US currency was at 4.355 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the greenback was at 7.019 versus the Chinese yuan.
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Open Bid Rs 157.50
Open Offer Rs 158.50
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Bid Rate Rs 158.40
Offer Rate Rs 158.50
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According to currency dealers, the short supply phenomenon of the greenback prevailed throughout the trading session which helped its appreciation for buying and selling at Rs 157.00 and Rs 157.90 against the overnight closing trend of Rs 156.20 and Rs 156.90 respectively.
Furthermore, the national currency lost Re 1 against the pound sterling for buying and ended at Rs 188.50 against the opening rate of Rs 187.50 whereas it did not witness any change for selling at Rs 191.50, they added.