By Jaspreet Kalra
MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Indian rupee ended marginally stronger on Thursday after hitting its highest level in six months earlier in the session, as likely intervention from the central bank limited the currency’s rise.
The rupee closed at 82.7850 against the U.S. dollar, higher by 0.05% compared with its close at 82.8225 in the previous session. The local unit rose 0.1% in the week, logging its fourth consecutive weekly gain.
While the rupee climbed to a peak of 82.7350 early in the session, the highest level since September, the Reserve Bank of India bought dollars via state-run banks which trimmed the unit’s gains, traders said.
In addition to the RBI’s intervention, dollar demand from importers also weighed on the rupee, a foreign exchange trader at a foreign bank said.
“Attempts to breach 82.70 could create room for the (dollar-rupee) pair to fall a little more … would prefer shorts keeping a stop loss near 82.95 at current levels,” the trader added.
The dollar index was down slightly at 103.18, hovering close to its weakest level in a month hit on Wednesday. Most Asian currencies strengthened, with the Malaysian ringgit up nearly 0.6% and leading gains.
The best-case scenario for the rupee seems to be a rise to 82.50 but sharp appreciation appears unlikely in the near term, Sajal Gupta, head of forex and commodities at Nuvama Professional Client Group’s institutional desk said.
Even as a bearish bias prevails across most Asian currencies, bullish bets on the Indian rupee have firmed most in two-and-a-half years, according to a Reuters poll.
Investors will now keep an eye on U.S. jobless claims data due later on Thursday and the non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
Indian financial markets will remain shut on Friday for a local holiday.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
