Rupee back at 54 level vs dollar, up 42 paise

Strengthening for the third day in a row, the rupee on Thursday shot up by 42 paise against the dollar to end at 54-level for the first time in nearly three weeks, amid sustained FII inflows and a surprise rate cut by China.

The rupee commenced higher at 55.14 a dollar from the overnight close of 55.36 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, and immediately touched a low of 55.30 on some dollar demand from oil importers as crude oil hovered around the $85 per barrel.

However, the currency bounced back to breach 55-mark to a high of 54.92 before concluding at 54.94, its highest closing since May 18. This was rise of 0.76 per cent or 42 paise.

In the last three sessions, the rupee has gained 71 paise at a time local stocks, represented by Sensex, rose over 600 points with the 30-share index rising by 195 points on Thursday.