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Rupee Gains 27 Paise To End At 4-Month High Of 69.58 Against U.S. Dollar

The rupee strengthened further by 27 paise to close at a four-month high of 69.58 against the U.S. currency on Friday

A man holds a two thousand Indian rupee banknote. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg) 
A man holds a two thousand Indian rupee banknote. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg) 

The rupee strengthened further by 27 paise to close at a four-month high of 69.58 against the U.S. currency on Friday, extending gains for fourth day in a row aided by easing crude oil prices and steady stock markets.

The rupee traded strong against the U.S. currency despite a firm dollar overseas, signalling a change in sentiments of forex speculators, analysts said.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened higher at 69.69, and soon gathered momentum to touch a high of 69.57.

The domestic unit, however, pared some gains and settled the day up by 27 paise at 69.58 a dollar, a level not seen since Aug. 1.

On Thursday the rupee had vaulted 77 paise to a three-month high of 69.85 per U.S. dollar.

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"The INR remained unchanged today despite dollar strength, signaling changing sentiments amongst forex speculators, a rise in FII inflows and crude stabilising below $60," said Sunil Sharma, chief investment officer at Sanctum Wealth Management.

Sharma further noted that the key events this week will be the discussion on trade between China and the U.S. at the G-20, and agreements, if any, on crude supply cuts amongst OPEC nations.

Traders said sustained foreign fund inflows, easing crude oil prices and a smart recovery in domestic equity markets also aided the local currency.

Globally, Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading 1.18 percent down at $58.81 per barrel.

The Financial Benchmark India Pvt. Ltd. set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 69.6574 and for rupee/euro at 79.3588. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 89.0848 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 61.43.