Extending its gains for the third day in a row, the rupee closed up by 12 paise at nearly a two-month high of 44.57/58 against the U.S. currency on continuous sale of dollars amid capital inflows.
Dealers said that persistent dollar selling by exporters and some banks on hopes of further fall in the U.S. currency after the euro rose to a three-week high against the Greenback yesterday in New York after the Greek Parliament approved legislation for implementing stringent austerity measures.
However, late fall in local equities capped the rupee rise to certain extent, they added.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit opened better at 44.67/68 a dollar from yesterday’s close of 44.69/70 and improved further to a high of 44.52 before settling at 44.57/58, a gain of 0.27 per cent. In three days of rally, the rupee has risen by 46 paise or 1.02 pct.
Alpari Financial Services (India) CEO Pramit Brahmbhatt said,”Rupee traded strong near 2 month high against the dollar and appreciated by about quarter per cent, taking cues from global markets where dollar traded weak against the major currencies.”
The dollar index was down by nearly 0.05 per cent in European market today.
Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex rose for the sixth day in a row, up 152 points at 2-month high of 18,846, on heavy FII inflows amid sharp dip in food inflation and firm global markets as concerns over Greek debt crisis eased.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net buyers and pumped in about $ 1.4 billion in six trading sessions since June 23.
