(Reuters) - The rupee continued to trade stronger on Wednesday afternoon boosted by gains in local shares and the dollar's weakness versus majors overseas.
* At 2:06 p.m., the partially convertible rupee was at 45.61/62 per dollar compared with its close of 45.88/89 on Tuesday, when it had dipped to 46.12, its weakest since Sept. 17.
* Dealers expect the Indian unit to mostly track local shares and move in the 45.60-45.90 band intra-day.
* The rupee had recovered from its lows on Tuesday following a stronger-than-expected GDP growth number for July-September, which improved sentiment for domestic shares.
* India's economy grew more than expected in the second quarter of 2010/11, boosted by farm output and manufacturing, putting pressure on the Reserve Bank of India to tighten monetary policy although a rate increase next month looks unlikely.
* Dealers said a telecom firm was also expected to bring in $500 million towards tax payment over a period of time which could help the rupee.
* Indian shares remained buoyant and were up 1.2 percent on Wednesday, tracking Asian shares and a day after robust growth data.
* State-run Shipping Corp of India is likely to raise up to $259 million through a share sale. The issue opened on Tuesday and will close on Friday.
* The euro inched up on Wednesday after a drubbing the previous day but remained near 11-week lows against the dollar in a market waiting to see what European policymakers will do next to contain worries about the euro zone debt.
* The dollar index, which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.33 percent at 80.926 points.
* The one-year onshore dollar premium was a tad up at 205.25 points from Tuesday's close of 204 points.
* One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were at 45.81, weaker than the onshore spot rate, suggesting a bearish near-term outlook.
* In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contract on the National Stock Exchange, MCX-SX and United Stock Exchange were at 45.8350, 45.8325 and 45.84 respectively, with the total traded volume on the three exchanges at a moderate $3.9 billion.
(Reporting by Swati Bhat; Editing by Rajesh Pandathil)
