Rupee rises to 81.61 vs dollar — key factors here

Rupee gained by 11 paise from its previous close on Wednesday to 81.61 vs the US dollar amid ease in value of greenback against a basket of six peers. Global crude oil benchmarks rebounded putting pressure on the currency. 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 0.1 percent lower at 101.6.

Crude oil prices rebounded on Wednesday amid optimism on demand recovery in China. Brent crude futures were trading 0.4 percent higher at $86.5 per barrel at the last count. WTI futures, too, were trading 0.3 percent higher at $80.4 per barrel at the last count.

"The RBI protected the sharp appreciation in the rupee by intervening in the spot market around 80.90-81.00 levels, which pushed the speculators to unwind their short positions in the USD. Further, buying of USD by oil companies amid a rise in crude oil prices coupled with FII’s remaining net sellers have mounted pressure on the rupee," said Amit Pabari of CR Forex.