Rupee up by 21 paise buoyed by surge in equities

Mumbai: The rupee gained further by 21 paise at 63.61 against the American currency in late morning trade on sustained selling of dollars by banks and exporters in view of fresh foreign capital inflows into the equity market. The rupee opened almost flat at 63.80 as against last closing level of 63.82 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and later rose to 63.59 before quoting at 63.61 at 1100 hours.

The rupee hovered in a range of 63.80 and 63.59 during the morning deals. In the Asian trade, the euro was on the defensive in early trade after Greece missed a self-imposed Sunday deadline for reaching an agreement with its lenders to unlock aid, keeping alive fears of a debt default.

Oil prices fell in early trade in Asia following healthy gains at the end of last week while there are still concerns about a global supply glut as OPEC prepares for meeting where it's expected to maintain output. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was trading higher 80.32 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 27,908.76 at 1110 hours.