Rs rebounds, up 33 paise at 69.82

The Indian rupee on Monday made a strong comeback from its life-time low and ended with a stellar 33 paise gain at 69.82 on heavy dollar unwinding and a robust rally in domestic equities.

This is the biggest one-day vault against the American currency in seven weeks.

After a seemingly endless stream of gloomy news and falling values, sentiment has finally started to show signs of improvement globally against the backdrop of the upcoming visit of Chinese delegates to the US in order to re-engage in trade talks.

Easing contagion risk on emerging market currencies after last week’s carnage also led to a positive influence on the trading front.

The recovery also coincides with the falling inflation levels despite widening trade deficit, which has risen to a near five-year high.

The Indian currency had its most turbulent week in more than two years witnessing record lows after doing little to quell investors’ fears of a prolonged downturn ahead —a shock resembling 2013 currency crisis.

The rupee crashed to a historic low of 70.40 before closing at a life-time low of 70.15 against the dollar in the wake of Turkey’s currency crisis last week.

However, the upside was cushioned by hardening worries over fiscal slippage after the country’s trade gap widened to a five-year high amid rising global crude prices.

The domestic currency touched a high of 69.59 in early deals.

Staging a smart recovery, the rupee opened with a gap up at 69.83 against last Thursday’s close of 70.15 at the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market.

The fresh breakout pushed the rupee to hit a session’s high of 69.59 as foreign banks sold the greenback. A strong rally in local equities further added momentum.

Easing trade tensions between the US and China also boosted most Asian currencies.

After revisiting a high of 69.59, the local unit finally ended the day at 69.82, revealing a sharp rise of 33 paise, or 0.47 per cent.