The Indian rupee breached the 45-per-dollar mark to reach a new four-and-half-month high on Monday, as large foreign investor interest in the domestic stock market amid a clutch of initial public offerings (IPOs) boosted sentiment. The partially convertible rupee closed at 45.01/02 per dollar after hitting 44.99, which was its highest since May 13, and 0.5 percent firmer than 45.25/26 at close last Friday.
One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 45.23, weaker than the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, MCX-SX and United Stock Exchange closed at 45.27, 45.27 and 45.2725 respectively, with the total traded volume on the three exchanges at an average $9.9 billion.