The Indian rupee on week ended Friday surged 40 paise versus the US dollar, reaching a more than two-week high of 74.66, its highest level in almost three months, on hopes of a diplomatic solution to the East-West dispute over Ukraine.
The local currency was also bolstered by a drop in crude oil prices, according to analysts.The local currency opened at 75.03 versus the dollar on the interbank forex market, with an intra-day high of 74.60 and a low of 75.05.
The rupee ended the day at 74.66, up 40 paise or 0.53 percent from its previous closing of 75.06. Thursday's session ended with the rupee closing at 75.11 although it eventually settled at 75.06.
Meanwhile, the dollar index rose 0.05 percent to 95.84, which gauges the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies. The global oil benchmark, Brent crude futures, was trading 1.68 percent down at USD 91.41 per barrel.
On the domestic front, the BSE Sensex slid 59.04 points, or 0.10 percent, to 57,832.97, while the broader NSE Nifty down 28.30 points, or 0.16 percent, to 17,276.30. According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, offloading shares worth Rs 1,242.10 crore.
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