India’s rupee climbed to a six-month high, extending a rally that’s made it Asia’s top-performing currency this year, as foreigners continued their purchases of local bonds ahead of the nation’s inclusion into global debt indexes.
Read more: Gold price rises in India: Check 24-carat rate in your city on March 7. Should you buy?
A weaker dollar spurred by a batch of soft US jobs data and congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also supported emerging Asian currencies.
Read more: Stocks to buy: Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel hit 52-week high. List of major gainers and losers
The currency gained 0.1% to 82.7250 per dollar on Thursday, the highest since September 4. It has advanced 0.5% this year, setting the stage for a strong 2024, while all other Asian peers have declined.
Read more: IIFL Finance share price jumps 8% after Fairfax liquidity support: Top updates
A combination of “corporate repatriation flows, heavy inflows in the debt market and also weakness in the dollar,” is driving the rupee higher, said Anindya Banerjee, currency analyst at Kotak Securities.
{{/usCountry}}A combination of “corporate repatriation flows, heavy inflows in the debt market and also weakness in the dollar,” is driving the rupee higher, said Anindya Banerjee, currency analyst at Kotak Securities.
{{/usCountry}}The advance came as global investors plowed $5 billion into Indian bonds this year, with government securities luring the bulk of the flows.