Dollar closed at 65.2550 against its opening of 65.3100. Dollar fell during later afternoon trades on selling by exporters and nationalised banks likely for the Reserve Bank of India. Also, overseas fund inflows into local stocks supported the dip in spot.  Exporters and foreign banks dollar selling will be seen near opening levels as the spot had rallied to five-month high level. The greenback remained subdued against its major peers as investors looked past Federal Reserve March monetary policy minutes released Wednesday amid softer US inflation data. Federal Reserve policy makers at their meeting in March expressed greater confidence inflation would rise to their 2% target over the coming year, a development that could affect how much they raise interest rates in coming years, released the minutes. Also, the officials debated the costs and benefits of allowing the economy to run hot and discussed how they might need to later raise rates to a level that would deliberately slow growth, according to minutes of their March 20-21 meeting.   

BSE Sensex traded lower by 21.70 points, to 33,962.14, while the Nifty 50 inched down 7.85 points.

INTERNATIONAL

Oil markets remained tense on concerns over a military escalation in Syria, although prices remained some way off Wednesday’s highest since late 2014 as bulging American supplies weighed.
 

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda stressed his resolve to maintain the central bank’s massive stimulus program, even as he offered an optimistic view on prospects for meeting his 2 percent inflation target.

Gold prices eased off multi-week highs as minutes from the Federal Reserves’s last policy meeting raised expectations for a faster pace of U.S. rate hikes.

China will not hesitate to fight back if the United States escalates its trade spat with Beijing, the commerce ministry said on Thursday, asserting that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pledge to cut import tariffs is not a concession to Washington.