Mumbai, Jun 28: The rupee today rose by a whopping 35 paise to close at 56.80 against the dollar amid hopes that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who himself has taken over the finance portfolio will initiate steps to prop up the economy and halt the currency's slide.
The rupee resumed higher at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market but fell to a intra-day low of 57.10.
It soon staged a smart recovery on dollar selling by exporters and some banks on expectations of steps by the Prime Minister amid top officials reviewing the economic situation.
The rupee closed at 56.80, showing a rise 35 paise or 0.61 per cent, its biggest percentage gain in two weeks.
FIIs sold stocks worth Rs 1,112.63 crore today while domestic institutions bought Rs 772.37 crore shares as per provisional data from stock exchanges.
"The rupee appreciated as there was not much of demand for dollars coupled with selling of greenback from foreign banks. The PM's statement regarding revival of animal spirit in economy sustained the sentiment," N S Venkatesh, Head of Treasury, IDBI Bank said.
Hemal Doshi, Currency Strategist said there was no sign of intervention by RBI today.
The rupee, which snapped a two-day losing string lost 14 paise in the last two sessions, has shed around 7 per cent value in 2012 - the worst performance among Asian rivals.
The dollar index, a gauge of six major rivals, today was up by nearly 0.09 per cent and the New York crude oil was trading above USD 80 a barrel in European market today.
Meanwhile, the Indian stock market benchmark Sensex rose for the third straight day today edging up 23 points to close at 16,990.76.
