USD/INR closed at 68.5350 against its opening of 68.54. Dollar/rupee traded and ends lower on Monday tracking a weak greenback pinned down by expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut this month.Dollar still remained in the weak zone. Also, Chinese GDP data was in line with expectations, boosting Asian currencies.
Despite a slowdown in Chinese economic growth, data came in line with market expectations amid upbeat retail sales and industrial production data from the world's second largest economy.Indian rupee along with other Asian currencies found support post release of slew of Chinese data.Local stocks opened higher Monday on optimism over better fiscal first quarter corporate earnings amid mixed global cues. However, dollar/rupee in the offshore market pared losses after spot market opened.
The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, traded at 96.81 late compared with 97.06 at close of spot rupee market on Friday.
The greenback remained subdued against major peers pinned down by expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut this month.
Weaker-than-expected numbers for retail sales, industrial output or second-quarter gross domestic product, seen growing at 6.2% from a year earlier, would have caused investors to move away from Asian currencies and Indian rupee. But inline Chinese data indicated no negative trigger for EM going into week of trade.
Sensex provisionally ends 160 points higher with 16 components in the green.