Rupee does U-turn, rises 23 paise to 69.35 against US dollar

After opening on a weak note, the rupee recovered the lost ground and finally settled 23 paise higher at 69.35 to the US dollar amid weakening of the greenback against major currencies.

At the interbank foreign exchange (forex), the domestic currency witnessed heavy volatility. The local unit opened at 69.58 a dollar and touched a low of 69.60 and high of 69.34 during the day.

The local unit finally closed at 69.35 against the American currency, registering a rise of 23 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had settled at 69.58 against the US dollar.

"Sustained weakness in the Dollar Index could be the prime reason for strength in the domestic currency," said V K Sharma, Head PCG & Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.22 per cent to 96.00.

Forex traders said the uptick in the rupee assumes significance amid brent above USD 65 per barrel, foreign fund outflows and .