Surging for the fourth straight day, the rupee gained 7 paise to end at 63.44 against the American currency, on a sustained dollar selling by banks and exporters, amidst a soft greenback overseas.
Besides, robust capital inflows and rallying local equity markets supported the trading sentiment, Forex dealers said.
Extending its strong up move, the rupee resumed firmly higher at 63.43 against Thursday’s close of 63.51 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market and strengthened further to hit fresh intra-day high of 63.35 before finishing at 63.44.
It registered a gain of 7 paise, or 0.11 per cent, a level not seen since May 5 this year.
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In the overseas trade, the dollar weakened against its major rivals in thin trade, after a string of disappointing U.S macro data fuelled uncertainty over the timing of a rate hike.
The U.S dollar index was down by 0.10 per cent at 96.19.
Crude prices eased after a brief overnight spike amid a glut of over-supply in global markets as well as lack lustre U.S macro data.
Veracity Group CEO, Pramit Brahmbhatt said, “Fresh selling of the US currency by exporters supported the rupee. Also, the local equities traded positively for the day which further supported the rupee to appreciate on a weekly basis.”
The trading range for the spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 63.00 to 63.80.
In the forward market, the premium for dollar ended weak on sustained receivings from exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in December eased to 218-220 paise from 219-221 paise yesterday, while those for June, 2016 contract ended steady at 440-442 paise.
The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 63.3963 and for the euro at 70.3319.
The rupee edged lower against the pound sterling to 99.13 from 99.08 and moved down against the euro to 70.39 as compared to 70.34 per euro yesterday.
The domestic unit also slipped against the Japanese unit to 51.61 per 100 yen from 51.42 in the previous session.