Ruppee rises to three-month high against US dollar

Mumbai : The rupee was trading at 46.97 per dollar at noon on Friday, the strongest level since June 22. It earlier touched 45.9450 per dollar.

Buoyed by strong gains in the local stocks and a weak dollar in the overseas markets, the Indian rupee rose to nearly three-month high on Friday.

At around noon time, the partially convertible rupee was trading at 46.97 per dollar, stronger than 46.14/15 at close on Thursday.

It is up about 1% this week and earlier touched 45.9450, the strongest level since June 22.

The rupee, which was headed for its biggest weekly advance since July, climbed to a three-month high after the Reserve Band of India (RBI) on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rates for the fifth time this year.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex was last up 1% at 19,628 after touching a high of 19,639 while the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty was up 1.1% at 5,893 after being as high as 5,898. Both the indices are trading close to their highest levels since January 2008.

The India economy grew by 8.8% from a year earlier in the second quarter.