Rupee trims initial gains, still up by 10 paise vs dollar

Bouts of selling of dollar by banks and exporters helped the rupee

The rupee trimmed its initial gains but was still trading up by 10 paise to 66.04 as against the US currency on bouts of selling of dollar by banks and exporters.

The Indian unit opened sharply higher at 65.95 per dollar against yesterday's closing level of 66.14 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.

It moved in a range of 65.0425 to 65.86 per dollar during the morning deals before quoting 65.04 at 1030 hrs.

The dollar index was trading down 0.22% at 95.07 against a basket of six currencies in the early trade.

"Due to volatility in global markets, the likelihood of a Fed rate hike in the upcoming September meeting is fast receding. Following the PBoC action, Chinese equity sell-off has taken a breather. The US dollar has once again gained lost ground," a dealer said.

The USD-INR pair is expected to trade today in a range of 65.80-66.20 per dollar," the dealer said.

Oil rose in Asia today as dealers digested a mixed US energy report showing a dip in crude inventories, but barely any decline in production despite sinking prices.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex was trading up by 350 points or 1.36% at 26,065.11 at 1030 hrs.