Indian rupee hits eight-month high; central bank seen buying dollars

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee faced stiff resistance after hitting its highest level in eight months on Friday as the central bank was spotted buying the greenback intermittently to absorb the large dollar inflows, four traders said.

The partially convertible rupee was at 59.92/93 against the dollar at 1025 GMT, after hitting 59.87, its strongest level since July 30 and stronger than its close of 60.31/32 on Thursday.

Traders said good foreign fund inflows were seen on the back of record high domestic shares but the central bank was likely buying dollars via state-run banks to halt the sharp appreciation in the rupee and shore up its foreign exchange reserves.

Dealers expect the rupee to find stiff resistance around 59.90 levels for the session.