India's rupee climbs after strong growth

Mumbai:  India's rupee climbed for a second day on optimism better-than-forecast growth in the economy will spur global funds to add to purchases of the nation's assets.

Gross domestic product rose 8.9 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, more than the 8.2 per cent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey, according to official data released yesterday. The currency rose by the most in almost a week as overseas investors bought $59.4 million (Dh218.4 million) more Indian equities than they sold so far this week. "Growth should be a positive factor for the rupee," said R.V.S. Sridhar, head of markets at Axis Bank Ltd. in Mumbai.

The rupee climbed 0.4 per cent to 45.715 per dollar in Mumbai. The currency has fallen 1.7 per cent so far this quarter, the second-worst performance among Asia's most-traded currencies.