After four days of depreciation, rupee advanced 0.3 per cent against dollar to end at 71.03 on Thursday.
That marked a gain of 21 paise for rupee against greenback from previous close of 70.24, a day after central bank announced new rules for overseas borrowings.
Weakness in United States currency overseas amid a dip in crude oil rates supported currency, say analysts.
However, volatility witnessed in domestic equity markets kept upside in check.
Here are 10 things to know:The rupee opened at 71.15 against American currency on Thursday, and moved in a range of 70.92-71.40 before settling at 71.03 for day.Analysts say easing of external commercial borrowing (ECB) rules by RBI supported rupee.The Reserve Bank of India, on Wednesday, relaxed offshore borrowing rules for companies and financial institutions.
Borrowers can now raise funds from offshore markets for at least three years without any ceiling on amount."Central bank eased overseas borrowing rules for companies, which also helped rupee to recover from lower levels," said VK Sharma, head PCG and capital markets strategy, HDFC Securities.Previously, RBI had only allowed companies to borrow up to $50 million for three years.
For funds beyond $50 million companies had to borrow for at least five years.The dollar index - which measures greenback against six major peers - was last seen trading 0.01 per cent lower.Crude oil prices fell 2 per cent on Thursday amid concerns about rising US output and US-China trade dispute.
Brent futures - global benchmark for crude oil - were last seen down 1.8 per cent around $60 a barrel levels."The Brent crude rally halted today on face of strongly rising crude oil production coming out of US The rupee was among top five best performing emerging market currencies today," said Sunil Sharma, chief investment officer, Sanctum Wealth Management.The domestic equity markets managed to finish higher for a third session in a row amid high volatility.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty finished 0.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively, after a choppy session as advances in IT and energy stocks were offset by weakness in pharma and state-run banks.The rupee had declined by 83 paise - or 1.2 per cent - in past four sessions.(With agency inputs)