MUMBAI: The rupee strengthened to its highest level in nearly two months on Monday tracking gains in the domestic sharemarket and the dollar's drop against major currencies overseas.
* At 9:28 a.m. the partially convertible rupee was at 45.48/49 per dollar, after rising to 45.42, its strongest since Jan. 12 and above its close of 45.60/61 on Friday.
* The rupee gained 1.1 percent last week, its best since a 1.9-percent rise in the week to Jan. 8.
* The index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.3 percent.
* The yen was broadly under pressure on Monday while demand for higher-yielding currencies was robust after a better-than-expected U.S. jobs data supported optimism about an economic recovery.
* Indian shares gained more than 1 percent early on Monday, led by Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank, as sharp gains in Asian markets on hopes for a U.S. recovery boosted sentiment.
* 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 45.5625, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $370 million.
