Rupee strengthens

The rupee strengthened against the dollar at the local currency market on Monday amid slowdown in the demand for foreign exchange by the importers, dealers said.

 The rupee closed at 104.13 per dollar, up 43 points at the interbank market as compared to the previous close of 104.56. Dealers said that the domestic unit is gaining grounds due to the central bank’s interventions and weak demand for the dollars by the importers in absence of oil payments.  

 Dealers expect the rupee/dollar parity to trade around the 104.75 mark by the end of this week.