The rupee gained for the first time in four days to close 38 paise higher at 61.74 against the dollar on inflows from foreign banks and corporates despite weak inflation numbers.

The rupee also rose on some dollar selling as the US currency weakened overseas before the Federal Reserve meeting due on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The domestic unit opened a tad weaker at 62.15/$ from Friday’s close of 62.12 due to weak domestic equity markets. It touched an intraday low of 62.24 in morning trades.

However, the rupee recovered despite higher wholesale price index (WPI) inflation numbers and weak equity market.

November WPI inflation climbed to a 14-month high of 7.52 per cent, increasing chances of a rate hike by the RBI in its monetary policy on Wednesday.

October industrial production had contracted 1.8 per cent year-on-year and November CPI (consumer price index) inflation jumped to 11.24 per cent.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has maintained that the central bank is not comfortable with the current level of inflation and would carefully calibrate its monetary policy.

Call rates, bond yields soften

The inter-bank call money rate, the rate at which banks borrow from each other to meet their short-term requirements, ended lower at 7.75 per cent from Friday’s close of 8 per cent.

The 10-year benchmark 7.16 per cent government security (G-secs), which matures in 2023, closed higher at Rs 87.24 from Rs 86.99. Yield on the security softened to 9.21 from 9.25 per cent. Bond prices and their yields move in opposite directions.

>Beena.parmar@thehindu.co.in

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