MUMBAI: The rupee continued to trade higher in afternoon trade on Tuesday with gains in domestic shares boosting sentiment, while stronger regional peers also cheered. At 3 pm, the partially convertible rupee was at 46.20/21 per dollar, after touching 46.1350, its highest since Feb. 4, and stronger than its 46.32/33 close on Monday. Asian currencies rallied in thin trade on Tuesday, supported by a modest rebound in the battered euro as the European Union struggled to work out a rescue plan for debt-ridden Greece. The euro rose against the dollar on Tuesday as expectations that European finance ministers would not say anything new on solving Greece's debt woes prompted short-term players to trim their short positions. Dealers said importers were likely to step up dollar purchases on the back of the rupee's gains, which would limit a further sharp rise in the unit. They were also eyeing the stock markets for further direction. Shares were trading 0.7 percent higher, tracking a rise in world markets in a holiday-thinned market.One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at 46.14/24, stronger than the onshore spot rate, suggesting a bullish view on the unit in the near-term. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both quoting at 46.2275, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $3.8 billion.

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