The Indian rupee rose for a third successive session on Thursday, driven by foreign fund inflows, with the currency likely to witness ranged trading in the absence of any major domestic cues. The Indian unit has found support in recent sessions, including Thursday, from custodial dollar sales by foreign banks, dealers said.
"It was a flows driven choppy trade in a narrow band. The dollar's move against major currencies and stock market moves will be watched for cues," said Paresh Nayar, head of fixed income and forex trading at First Rand Bank in Mumbai. The partially convertible rupee ended at 53.6950/7150 per dollar, higher than its previous close of 53.80/81. It traded in a tight 53.67-53.90 band in the session. However, it is still 0.25 per cent down for the week, on its way to the third weekly loss in four.
In the offshore non-deliverable forwards market, the one-month contract was at 54.00 while the three-month was at 54.55. 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 53.96 with total traded volume at $4.04 bi l lion.