Rupee strengthens tracking the positive local shares on Friday

The rupee rose for the third straight day on Friday supported by higher Asian peers and local stocks. Banks and exporters reducing their dollar position amidst a fall of the greenback in the global markets mainly buoyed the sentiment for the local unit. However, persistent dollar demand for defense and oil payments are expected to put a lid on a sharp rise of the domestic unit. Meanwhile, the euro held steady against the dollar on Friday; clinging to much of the gains it made the previous day after weak US data underscored expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates near zero for a while.

The partially convertible Rupee is currently trading at 44.93, stronger by 5 paise from its previous close of 44.98 on Thursday. It touched a high and a low of 44.95 and 44.89 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India's reference rate for the US dollar stood 44.98 and for Euro it stood at 64.16 on May 18, 2011. While, the RBI's reference rate for the Yen stood at 55.11 and the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 72.6832. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.

(RBI-Reference Rate)