Rupee continues upward march, ends at 66.43

Mumbai: The rupee on Tuesday ended marginally higher by one paisa to close at 66.43 against the American currency and continued its upward march for the third day today on selling of dollars by banks and exporters in view of sustained foreign capital inflows.

A positive trend in equity market also boosted the sentiment as the Sensex ended higher by another 123.43 points or 0.49 percent for the second straight day today.

The domestic currency resumed higher at 66.40 as against yesterday's level of 66.44 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market and hovered in a range of 66.39 and 66.5575 per dollar before finishing at 66.43, showing a mere gain of one paise or 0.02 percent.

The domestic currency has gained by 23 paise or 0.35 per percent in the last three trading days.

The dollar index was down by 0.15 percent against a basket of six global currencies in the late Asian trade.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 66.4950 and euro at 75.9107.

In cross-currency trades, the rupee dropped further against the pound sterling to close at 95.05 from 94.59 yesterday.

However, it moved up against the euro to 75.76 per euro from 75.78 yesterday and also looked up against the yen to 61.39 per 100 yens from 61.43 previously.

The US dollar gained against the yen but fell against the euro after the Japanese finance minister's latest warning against excessive yen strength.