Forex update: Rupee up 45 paise, best single-day gain in 3-months

The rupee on Thursday rose by 45 paise, its best single-day gain in three months, to close at a two-week high of 60.76 against the US currency on fresh dollar selling by exporters and bullish local equities amid fall in wholesale inflation to five-month low in July.

Increased portfolio investments by foreign funds and weak dollar overseas, too, lifted the market sentiment, forex dealers said.

The rupee resumed strong at 61.04 a dollar from previous close of 61.21 but immediately touched a low of 61.13 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.

However, it later bounced back to close at day's highest level of 60.76, a net rise of 45 paise or 0.74 per cent. It is the rupee's highest closing level since 60.55 on July 31.

It is also the rupee's best single-day gain since May 16 this year, when it had risen by 50 paise, or 0.84 per cent.

"This has been a mixed week for the rupee, as it was range bound during initial sessions but ended on a positive note.

Geopolitical tensions in Ukraine, US data and India's inflation numbers were the main triggers for the rupee in this week.

"Today, strength in Asian currencies, slight weakness in the US dollar and positive domestic markets were seen supporting the rupee," said Abhishek Goenka, founder and CEO, India Forex Advisors.

The BSE Sensex closed over 184 points higher to close at a 3-week high of 26,103.23. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs ) pumped in Rs 625.18 crore into domestic equities on Thursday, according to provisional stock exchange data.

The dollar index, consisting of six major global rivals, was down by 0.08 per cent.

Meanwhile, inflation as measured by Wholesale Price Index (WPI) dropped to five-month low of 5.19 per cent in July.

Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group CEO said, "Today rupee closed strong. Positive sentiments in the market have boosted the confidence of the investors. This helped local indices to close up on a positive note. The trading range for the spot rupee for Monday is expected to be within 60.30 to 61.30."