Rupee ends modestly higher on RBI intervention

Mumbai The Indian rupee closed modestly higher on Wednesday, caught between the negative bias from higher crude oil prices and dollar sales by the Reserve Bank of India that helped counter the pressure.

The currency closed at 95.33, 10 paise stronger from its previous close of 95.43. Dollar sales by state run banks, likely on behalf of the RBI, kept the rupee in a narrow range of95.25-95.44 , traders said. The rupee is expected to trade on a stronger footing on Thursday, between 95.00 and 95.50 as a cease fire deal was extended to August 17, which cooled Brent futures to around $85 per barrel.