Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- India’s rupee rose, adding to its first monthly gain since May, after foreign investors increased holdings of the nation’s shares to a record. The currency climbed to its strongest level in more than seven weeks after overseas funds bought more Indian equities than they sold for a 15th straight day on Sept. 29, the longest stretch in almost two months. Foreign investment in the stock market reached an all-time high of $67.3 billion on Sept. 29, data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India showed. “The latest figures for foreign portfolio inflows remain impressive and the rupee is gaining from the expectation that the trend will continue,” said Roy Paul, assistant manager of treasury at Federal Bank Ltd. in Mumbai. The rupee rose to 47.885 per dollar as of 9:28 a.m. in Mumbai, from 48.11 on Sept. 29, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It touched 47.845 earlier, the strongest level since Aug. 10. Currency and bond markets in Mumbai were shut yesterday for banks’ half-yearly accounts closing. The rupee, which gained 1.8 percent last month, may trade between 47.75 and 48.10 in the coming days, Paul said. Offshore contracts indicate bets the rupee will trade at 47.92 to the dollar in a month, compared with expectations of 48.07 at the end of last week. Forwards are agreements in which assets are bought and sold at current prices for future delivery. Non-deliverable contracts are settled in dollars rather than the local currency. Growth in Asia’s third-largest economy accelerated to 6.1 percent in the quarter ended June 30, a pace that’s second only to China in Asia. India’s central bank forecasts the $1.2 trillion economy will expand 6 percent or more in the financial year ending March 31. To contact the reporters on this story: Anil Varma in Mumbai at avarma3@bloomberg.net.

Source