Rupee near 10-year high against dollar

The rupee came off from near its 10-year higher levels but still ended strong by five paisa at 39.29/30 against the US dollar on expectations of heavy allocation of foreign funds in near future in IPOs and smart recovery in the equity markets.In active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit opened steady at 39.33/35 a dollar from Friday's close of 39.34/35 a dollar.Later, it improved further to intra-trade high of 39.20 a dollar just near its previous 10-year high of 39.16 a dollar attempted on November 7, 2007.But, intervention by the apex bank at the rupee's higher levels weighed on the domestic currency and it fell back to settle the day at 39.29/30 a dollar, still higher than last close. The closing was also near a decade high.It had ended at 38.90 a dollar on February 19, 1998. The rupee garnered 14 paisa or 0.36 per cent in last three straight sessions.Dealers attributed smart rally in the rupee despite weak Asian stock indices to expectations of heavy capital inflows in the Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), including Reliance Power, later this month.Good resultsAnticipation of good Q3 corporate results to be announced this weekend also had a sentimental impact on the rupee. Smart recovery in the benchmark, Sensex, which finished up by nearly 126 points, also later aided the rupee sentiment.Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for the US currency at Rs 39.28 per dollar and for the single European unit at Rs 57.80 per euro. The rupee premiums on forward dollar ended lower on fresh receiving by exporters. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premiums payable in June closed at 27-1/2 - 29 paise, down from 34 - 35-1/2 paise on Friday and the far-forward maturing in December ended lower at 47 - 49 paise from Rs 54 - 56 paise previously.Cross currency tradeIn cross-currency trades, the rupee made a further headway against major currencies like the British sterling, the euro and the Japanese yen.The Indian unit hardened against the sterling to finish the day at Rs 77.53/55 per pound from overnight close of Rs 77.78/80 per pound and also improved further against the single European currency to Rs 57.72/74 per euro from last close of Rs 57.83/85 per euro.Similarly, the rupee edged up against the Japanese yen to Rs 35.96/98 per 100 yen from previous close of Rs 35.99/36.01 per 100 yen.