
Mumbai: The rupee today bounced back in
style to end at a one-week high of 65.01 against the US dollar
after Moody's upgraded the country s sovereign rating.
In its biggest single-day surge in six weeks, the home
currency settled the day with a solid 31 paise gain.
The rating upgrade comes after a gap of 13 years -
Moody's had last upgraded India's rating to 'Baa3' in 2004.
Stamping one of the most significant milestones, the
global credit rating agency Moody's today upgraded India's
sovereign credit rating by a notch to 'Baa2' with a stable
outlook.
The rupee today hit an intraday high of 64.60 before
giving back some win due to suspected RBI intervention.
There is an air of optimism on India's economic prospects
and created an ambiance of feel good factor following Modi
government's continued commitments towards strong governance
and sweeping reforms measures, a forex dealer said.
A rally on domestic equities further supplemented the
currency momentum in a healthy way.
Earlier at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex)
market, the home currency made a stellar start with the huge
gap-up at 64.75 against overnight close of 65.32 underpinned
by the Moody's decision to upgrade the ratings amid massive
dollar unwinding.
Maintaining its dominance over the greenback, the rupee
touched an intra-day peak of 64.60 in mid-morning deals.
However, the local currency gave back some of its early
strong gains following RBI's suspected intervention in the
currency market through public sector banks to curb runaway
rupee rally.
It finally closed at 65.01, showing a steep rise of 31
paise, or 0.47 per cent.
For the week, the local unit appreciated by a good 15
paise against the USD.
In cross-currency trades, the rupee recovered sharply
against the Pound sterling to finish at 85.79 from 86.16 per
pound and strengthened against the Euro to settle at 76.71
from 76.82 earlier.
The Indian currency, however fell back against the
Japanese yen to end at 57.75 per 100 yens from 57.71.
On the global front, the greenback drifted moderately
lower against other major currencies as ongoing uncertainty
over the fate of a major US tax reform plan and concerns over
an investigation into Donald Trump's presidential campaign
weighed.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback's value
against a basket of six major currencies, was down at 93.64 in
early trade.
In forward market today, premium for dollar continued to
show weakness due to sustained receiving from exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in April edged
down to 127-129 paise from 128-130 paise and the far forward
October 2018 contract also moved down to 266-268 paise from
268.50-270.50 paise yesterday.
On the International energy front, crude prices remained
under pressure on rising US supplies and doubts over Russian
support for continuing a cut in crude output, despite OPEC
showing willingness to extend an ongoing production cut beyond
March 2018.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for
oil prices, were at USD 61.23 per barrel, down 13 cents from
their last close.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were
at USD 55.32 a barrel, up 18 cents.