The rupee recovered from Thursday’s sharp fall to end 26 paise higher at 62.42 against the dollar on Friday on the back of a fall in global oil prices and dollar selling by exporters.

The domestic unit had plunged to 62.68 on Thursday due to heavy capital outflows after oil prices spiked over 5 per cent on Saudi Arabia’s announcement of a war on Yemen.

Friday, the unit opened weaker at 62.77 on continued fears of oil prices being impacted as military operations continue in Yemen. The rupee dropped to 62.79 in the early trading session after which banks and exporters sold fresh dollars as the American currency weakened against other major currencies. This supported the rupee, which gained to 62.39 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market.

Meanwhile, after declining over 650 points on Thursday, BSE-benchmark Sensex ended flat at 27,458.64.

Bond yields and Call Rates dip

The yield on 10-year benchmark 8.40 per cent Government security maturing in 2024, softened to 7.77 per cent from Thursday’s close of 7.79 per cent. During the day, the yields moved in a wide range of 7.76 to 7.81 per cent.

The price of the security rose to Rs 104.07 from Rs 103.93. The prices and yields of bonds move in opposite direction.

The interbank call money rate, rate at which banks lend to each other to overcome overnight liquidity mismatches, nudged down to 7.25 per cent from the previous close of 7.30 per cent. Intra-day, it moved between 6.50 to 7.90 per cent range.