The Indian rupee appreciated for a second straight day on Tuesday, buoyed by robust trade inflows, which lifted the local currency as much as 0.25 percent at one point before late dollar buying by importers capped gains. The rupee finished one-tenth of a percent firmer at 46.2150/2250 per dollar, compared to its previous close of 46.2650/2700.
The currency, dealt as high as 45.15 in a late afternoon deal, has now added 0.22 percent in two sessions.
"Exporter-driven dollar selling was strong in the afternoon, but then importers who had stayed away earlier felt it was better to start buying (the greenback) at those levels and that pushed the rupee back a bit towards close," a private bank dealer said.Traders said they expected importer demand, especially from state-run oil refiners who traditionally buy towards the end of the month to fund purchases, to sustain on Wednesday.