The rupee gained about half a per cent to close at 79.15 per US dollar, its highest level since August 3 and in lockstep with the Sensex reclaiming the 60,000 mark, showed data from Bloomberg.
“Corporate flows helped the rupee to gain against the dollar,” said Anil Bhansali, head of treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors. “With overseas investors turning net buyers of local securities the sentiment is also weighing on the rupee. We could see fresh buying interest from oil companies at 79.05 level.”
Banks were seen buying dollars during the day’s highest level on behalf of the oil marketing companies. The rupee strengthened as much as 79.03.
The rupee was the third best performing Asian currency Tuesday after the Japanese yen and South Korean won.
“The rupee strength was a blessing for RBI, which did not have to sell dollars using forex reserves,” said a currency dealer.
Foreign portfolio investors have bought a net of around $8.2 billion in local bonds and equities through August and September, reversing the earlier trend of exits.
On Tuesday, they purchased a net of Rs 1,957 crore in local equities, show provisional BSE data.
