TOI

Mumbai, Aug 2: The Indian rupee on Friday rebounded smartly to close 22 paise higher at 42.35/36 against the greenback amid a surge in stock markets, which bode well for capital inflows, and fall in global crude oil prices.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit opened higher at 42.47/48 a dollar and improved further to settle the day at 42.35/36 per dollar.

A fall in global consumption and slowing economic growth, pulled down the crude oil prices to near USD 123 a barrel which bolstered the rupee sentiments.

Foreign Institutional Investors also turned buyers yesterday, which also impacted positively on the rupee sentiment, expecting more capital inflows in near futures.

The demand for dollar also weakened with oil refiners positioning their decisions in anticipation of further fall in crude oil prices.

In afternoon trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, was down 73 cents to 123.35 dollars a barrel, after dropping 2.69 dollars at the close of floor trading yesterday in US deals.

Meanwhile, rising crude prices have pushed up India's oil import bill by 53.4 per cent to USD 9.03 billion in June this fiscal.

Despite weak global cues, Indian benchmark Sensex also rose by over 300 points helping the domestic currency to recover.