Rupee stages mild rally against US$

mumbai: the rupee staged a mild rally against the u s currency today on renewed exporter dollar sales and late unwinding of long positions by banks, overcoming the early depressed sentiment, a temporary fall-out from the downgrade of its sovereign currency rating. closing at rs 47.1150/1200 per dollar at the interbank foreign exchange (forex) market, a paisa gain from thursday's finish of rs 47.1250/1300, the rupee was wedged in a tight band of rs 47.1150 and rs 47.1400 in muted business. it opened softer at rs 47.1250/1350 and tested early intraday lows of rs 47.1350/1400 after banks went long on the dollar on a mild reaction to the downgrading of india's outlook by moody's investors service and standard & poor's. however, strong economic fundamentals asserted its grip on the market to overcome the initial blips and allowed the rupee to bounce back with gains, dealers said. "there was a negative sentiment in the market after the second lowering in outlook by moody's in as many days which tested the rupee's low at 47.14 on friday, but market forces later determined the rupee's true value by a sharp turnaround at close," a dealer commented. "i expect the rupee to remain stable in the near and medium term," he added.