Rupee at over 4-month high, up 19 paise against dollar

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated further by 19 paise to trade at over 4-month high of 66.33 against the US dollar in early trade at the forex market today on increased selling of the American currency by banks and exporters.

Besides, strong foreign fund inflows, weakness of the dollar against other currencies overseas after data showed activity in the US service sector slowed sharply last month, and a higher opening in the domestic equity market boosted the rupee value against the dollar, forex dealers said.

The rupee had soared by a whopping 30 paise to end at near four-month high of 66.52 in yesterday's trade on sliding dollar value after weaker-than-expected US jobs data eased fears of an imminent rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rallied by 89.82 points or 0.30 per cent to 29,067.84 in early trade.