The Indian rupee rebounded from session lows to gain for the day after the economy grew more strongly-than-expected in the April-June quarter, while a late surge in the euro ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also helped. The rupee also benefited after global risk assets rallied. The euro hit an eight-week high ahead of a speech from Bernanke that many hope will hit at a resumption of asset purchases by the US central bank.
"The absence of policy reforms and further bad news over coal deals would make it very difficult for the central government to boost the investment cycle and stimulate growth," said Abhishek Goenka, chief executive at India Forex Advisors. The partially convertible rupee closed at 55.52/53 per dollar as per the SBI closing rate, compared to its 55.63/64 close on Thursday and well off its session low of 55.7750.
The one-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 55.83 while the three-month was at 56.48. In the currency futures market, the most-traded near-month dollar/rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, the MCX-SX and the United Stock Exchange all closed at around 55.78, with a total traded volume at $2.6 billion.