Rupee trades higher against US dollar

NEW DELHI: Snapping a four-day losing streak, the rupee rose 16 paise to 66.01 against the US dollar on Monday morning.

Hit by month-end dollar demand from importers, the domestic currency had fallen by 18 paise against the greenback to settle at 66.16 on Thursday.

The currency market was closed on Friday on account of Bakri-Id.

“The rupee has been ruling in the 65.50-66.75 range for the last couple of weeks. Given the fact that we also have an RBI policy review on Tuesday and the borrowing calendar plus the month-end as well as quarter-end rollovers, I suspect the rupee should be trading with a weaker bias," said RK Gurumurthy, Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

The local unit gained even after US Fed Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in a speech last week said it would likely be appropriate to raise rates from near zero sometime later this year. She though added that any decision on rate hike would rely on the US economic data.

“We expect the rupee to rule above 66.50 in the next the days to come,” Gurumurthy said.

The dollar index, which tracks dollar movement against a basket of six currencies, stood at 96.15.