Mumbai: The rupee on Monday strengthened past 63 mark to hit near three-week high against the US dollar, tracking gains in its Asian peers and local equity markets.

The rupee opened at 63.92 a dollar and touched a high of 63.87 a level last seen on 9 August.

At 9.14am, the rupee was trading at 63.88 a dollar, up 0.24% from its Thursday’s close of 64.03. Markets were closed on Friday due to Ganesh Chaturthi.

Asian currencies were trading higher as dollar extended its decline after US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen dashed expectations on Friday that she would provide clues on monetary policy tightening.

South Korean won was up 0.72%, Taiwan dollar 0.32%, Malaysian ringgit 0.17%, Japanese yen 0.17%, Philippines peso 0.11%, China offshore 0.08% and China renminbi 0.06%. However, Hong Kong dollar was down 0.06%.

The benchmark Sensex index rose 0.52% or 165.19 points to 31,761.25. So far this year, it has risen over 19%.

The 10-year bond yield was at 6.531%, compared to its previous close of 6.538%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

So far this year, the rupee gained 6.25%, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought $7.12 billion and $19.50 billion in equity and debt markets, respectively.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 92.501, down 0.26% from its previous close of 92.74.

Source:livemint.com