The Indian rupee erased early losses to end higher on Wednesday as capital inflows remained robust and worries of central bank intervention faded amid ample cash in the banking system. The partially convertible rupee ended at 40.75/76 per dollar, higher than Tuesday's close of 40.79/80.
"A big foreign bank was selling dollars heavily in the closing minutes of trade and that pushed the rupee higher," said a local dealer. Dealers said foreign investor demand for a $2.1 billion domestic share sale by ICICI Bank had underpinned the rupee.
The domestic leg of the sale by ICICI to raise up to $4.9 billion in India and United States this week was covered in less than an hour on Tuesday, and bids can be submitted until Friday.