Rupee appreciates 3 paise to 77.75/$

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated by 3 paise to settle at 77.75 against the US dollar on Wednesday after the RBI raised the interest rate by 50 basis points to 4.9 per cent.

However, weak domestic markets, rising oil prices and persistent foreign capital outflows restricted the rupee's gain, forex dealers said.

The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday raised the key interest rate by 50 basis points, the second increase in five weeks, to rein in the rise in prices that it saw continuing to hurt consumers in the near term.

The rate hike comes on the back of a 40 bps increase affected by the RBI at an unscheduled meeting on May 4. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened strong at 77.70 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 77.64 and a low of 77.79.