The Indian rupee slipped off a five-month intra-day peak to end steady on Friday as importers cashed in on the unit's sharp recent gains to hedge exposures. Still, rupee sentiment was bullish as the dollar floundered overseas and speculation of a Chinese yuan revaluation increased.
The rupee closed at 45.2000/2200 per dollar, barely changed from Thursday's 45.2050/2150, the highest finish in five months. But it had fallen off the day's peak of 45.0450, the highest intra-day level since 45.0300 on June 11.
"The (rupee's) gains were very good and these were good levels to buy dollars. So many importers took the opportunity to hedge exposures," said a trader at a state-run bank. Traders estimated the import demand at around $150 million.
The rupee has risen 0.62 percent over the past three sessions alone, taking its gains since mid-October to 1.5 percent. It began to strengthen noticeably last month when foreign investment inflows combined with a globally weak dollar to help the rupee. Recovering from a 6.25 percent slump between April and July, the rupee is now up 0.9 percent so far this calendar year.
The dollar was struggling just above this year's record low against the euro ahead of US jobs data later in the day.
In Asia, the dollar was further weighed down by speculation that the Chinese yuan will be revalued.