Mumbai, May 25 (IANS): Global cues and a rise in the country's equity indices strengthened the Indian rupee on Thursday to Rs 68.35 per greenback.
"Rupee bounced from yesterday's 18-month low as the US dollar lost its shine after FOMC (US' Federal Open Market Committee) minutes reflected a dovish stance," Geojit Financial Services Chief Market Strategist Anand James said.
"Equity indices' bounce-back from yesterday's fall also boosted rupee's demand, but the gains were limited, with Brent refusing to retract much from the $80 mark."
On Thursday, the Indian rupee strengthened by eight paise against the US dollar to 68.35, from its previous close at 68.43 per greenback.
Lately, high crude oil prices, along with a persistent outflow of foreign funds from the country's equity and debt markets and domestic political uncertainties, have weakened the Indian rupee.
According to HDFC Securities' Head of Retail Research Deepak Jasani, the rupee closed at 68.35 on May 24, its lowest closing value since November 30, 2016, when it closed at 68.56.
Jasani said that rupee remained subdued "despite crude oil and US dollar index
weakening in global markets due to continued FII selling and importer demand".
The provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrips worth Rs 701.93 crore on Thursday.