Rupee ends at highest closing level vs dollar since December 1

Rupee ended Wednesday's session 52 paise higher from its previous close, at 81.24 vs dollar, its highest closing level since December 1, 2022. Earlier in the session, the currency gained two paise to 81.74 vs dollar, amid rise in the value of greenback against a basket of six peers. Crude oil benchmarks traded higher on Wednesday. The dollar index — which measures the American currency against the yen, the pound, the Canadian dollar, the Swedish krona, the Swiss franc and the euro — was trading 0.5 percent higher at 102.6.

Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday on optimism about China demand recovery. Brent crude futures were trading 0.6 percent higher at $86.4 per barrel at the last count. WTI futures, too, were trading 0.7 percent higher at $81 per barrel at the last count.

"Overall, steady dollar weakness on the expectation of less hawkish Fed hikes would keep on supporting the risk on sentiment for the equities and currencies. Thus, after short-term hiccups or a pullback in the pair upto 81.75-82.00 zone, we can expect a continuation of the downtrend towards 81-80.80 in the near term," said Amit Pabari of CR Forex.