RTRS: Indian rupee in tight range; off two-wk high
MUMBAI, March 2 (Reuters) - The rupee was trading in a narrow band on Tuesday, off a near two-week high, boosted by gains in local shares and other Asian currencies but with the rise capped by some dollar buying by state-run banks and importers.
* At 1:50 p.m., the partially convertible rupee INR=IN was at 46.010/015 per dollar, after opening at 45.95, a level last seen on Feb. 17. It had ended at 46.085/095 on Friday and the market was closed on Monday for a holiday. The rupee traded in a narrow range of 45.95-46.055 so far this session.
* Traders said pipeline supplies due to the long weekend helped the rupee, but some buying of the dollar by state-run banks and importers prevented a further rise.
* Indian shares were up 1.88 percent.
* The South Korean won rose on Tuesday as investors turned back to riskier assets, while the Thai baht jumped in tandem with local stocks as investors reacted positively to a court ruling on former Prime Minister Thaksin. [EMRG/FRX].
* One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts PNDF were at 46.02/12, close to the onshore rate.
* In the currency futures market INRFUTURES, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both at 46.1000. (Reporting by Jeanette Rodrigues; Editing by Sunil Nair )