MUMBAI: The Indian rupee was marginally up in morning trade on Friday as dollar inflows offset the impact of negative local shares and mild dollar gains.
At 11:10 a.m. (0540 GMT) the partially convertible rupee was at 44.4500/4550 per dollar, 0.1 percent stronger than Wednesday's close of 44.50/51. The local forex market was closed on Thursday for a holiday.
"There is news about some flows; therefore, it has strengthened. There is some corporate dollar selling," a senior dealer with a state-run bank said.
Indian shares were down nearly 1 percent after Infosys Technologies, the second-largest software exporter, reported a lower-than-expected fourth quarter net profit.
The index of the dollar against six major currencies was up 0.09 percent at 74.747 points.
The euro dipped, but stayed within sight of a 15-month peak against the dollar on Friday, with its losses expected to be limited given the diverging outlook for monetary policy in the euro zone and the United States.
Traders said demand for the greenback from oil importers was likely to cap the rupee's gain on the day.
Oil is India's largest import item and refiners are the top buyers of dollars in the local forex market.
Brent crude held steady above $122 a barrel on Friday after China's economic growth beat forecasts despite government efforts to cool expansion and put the brakes on inflation.
The one-month onshore forward premium was steady at 25.50 basis points. The three-month was at 80.25 basis points versus 79.50 and the one-year was at 302.25 basis points from 300.00.
The one-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 44.70, weaker than the onshore spot rate.
In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, the MCX-SX and the United Stock Exchange were all at 44.5550, with total volume at 2.03 billion.
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