25 June,2009 12:00 PM IST | | PTI
The Indian rupee appreciated by five paise to 48.50/52 against the American currency in early trade today on a fresh surge in local stocks amid expectations of month-end dollar demand.
The domestic currency was trapped in a small range of 48.49 and 48.58 in the initial thirty minutes of trading after resuming steady at 48.55/57 a dollar from its last close of 48.55/56 a dollar.
Dealers at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market said that the Indian unit drew support from a firm equity market but anticipation of dollar buying from oil refiners exerted pressure on the rupee sentiment.
They said the rupee remained cautious in the light of sustained capital outflows in the past few days. The Indian benchmark Sensex was up 155 points in early trade while Asian indices gained about 1.0 to 2.0 per cent this morning after the Federal Reserve kept its fund rate steady.
