Mumbai, Oct 13 (PTI) The rupee continued its stellar runagainst the US dollar for the fifth day, surging by 15 paiseto end at a fresh three-week high of 64.93 on easing macroworries coupled with record-setting domestic equities.
A combination of factors such as bullish macro economicsituation and easing monetary policy environment amidfavouring global factors predominantly kept forex market moodbuoyant.
Macro data released on Thursday sent out a positivesignal about bottoming out in the economy after the recentphase of downtrend to hit a three-year low in the Junequarter amid receding investor pessimism.
To enhance the government's reform credentials, theindustrial production grew at a nine-month high of 4.3 percent in August on account of robust performance of mining andpower sectors coupled with higher capital goods output, whileretail inflation came in at 3.28 per cent in September,unchanged from August.
The buoyancy reflects the country's attractivenessamong global investors due to strong fundamentals allyinggrowth concerns, a forex dealer commented.
The Indian economy is expected to recover in the currentquarter as the slowdown seen post demonetisation has ended, headded.
This is the highest closing for the home currency sinceSeptember 21.
Meanwhile, pre-Diwali fireworks continued unabated onthe domestic bourses as frantic buying across the board drivenby gush of liquidity and expectations for the RBI to cut keyrates due to better-than expected inflation data propelled theNifty to end at a life time high of 10,167, surging over 71points.
The flagship Sensex also shot up 250 points to finish atan over two-month high of 32,432.69.
After a spectacular start at 64.95 against yesterday'sclose of 65.08, the rupee maintained its overall strength astrading progressed at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex)market on heavy dollar unwinding.
It kept momentum going to hit a fresh intra-day high of64.87, but came off from day's high against the dollar inafternoon trading, as importers stepped up greenbackpurchases.
The local unit finally settled at 64.93, showing a smartgain of 15 paise, or 0.23 per cent.
For the week, the Indian unit has appreciated by a good45 paise against the greenback after four-straight weeklydownfall.
The RBI, meanwhile, fixed the reference rate for thedollar at 64.9301 and for the euro at 76.8772.
In cross-currency trades, the rupee retreated against thepound sterling to end at 86.30 from 85.54 per pound butremained firm against the Japanese yen to finish at 57.88 per100 yens from 57.97.
The local currency also recovered against the euro toconclude at 76.74 from 77.17 yesterday.
On the global front, the US dollar held steady neartwo-week lows against other major counterparts, as investorsremained cautious ahead of a highly-anticipated US inflationreport due later in the day.
The greenback had broadly strengthened after the USDepartment of Labor reported on Thursday that initial joblessclaims fell more than expected to 2,43,000 last week.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback's valueagainst a basket of six major currencies, was trading sharplylower at 92.66 in early trade.
Elsewhere, the euro traded little changed after its sharpovernight rally as investors focused on US CPI and retailsales data during the US session.
The pound strengthened further on rumours indicating thatthe EU is willing to grant the UK a 2-year transition period.
In forward market today, premium for dollar weakenedfurther due to sustained receiving from exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in March softenedto 122-124 paise from 123-125 paise and the far forwardSeptember 2018 contract moved down to 259.50-261.50 paise from261-263 paise.
On the international energy front, crude prices stageda smart rebound on Friday as strong Chinese oil import dataand turmoil in the Middle East boosted bulls in a market thathas already shown signs of re-balancing after years of excess.
The brent was at USD 57.23 in early Asian trade, up 98cents, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was atUSD 51.41 per barrel, up 81 cents from its last settlement.
PTI EDM RHBMKJ.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.