Rupee, bonds surge on lower oil prices, RBI bond buy announcement

Rupee and bonds rose in early trade on Wednesday, boosted by a fall in global oil prices and on the central bank`s announcement to buy bonds via open market purchases.

The rupee opened at 72.18 to the dollar, its strongest since Sept. 21 and compared with 72.6750 on Tuesday, while the 10-year benchmark bond yield fell to as much as 7.70 per cent, its lowest since Aug. 2. The paper had ended at 7.76 per cent on Tuesday.

The Reserve Bank of India will buy 120 billion rupees ($1.65 billion) of government bonds on Thursday via open market operations.

Oil markets struggled to find their footing on Wednesday after plunging 7 per cent in the previous session, with surging supply and the spectre of faltering demand keeping investors on the edge.