BLBG: Indian Rupee Snaps 5-Day Drop as Global Credit Crisis May Ease
By Anoop Agrawal
Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- India's rupee rose, snapping a five- day losing streak, on speculation government efforts to shore up banks worldwide will unlock a lending freeze and lure investors back to emerging markets.
The currency rebounded from the record low of 49.26 per dollar touched on Oct. 10 as Asian stocks rose after Australia guaranteed bank deposits and European leaders agreed to support lenders to end the credit crisis. The rupee is the second-worst performer this year among the 10 most-traded currencies in Asia excluding the yen.
``The authorities are making aggressive efforts to prevent deepening of the crisis, which is giving confidence that normalcy will return sooner rather than later,'' said Parthasarathi Mukherjee, president of treasury at Axis Bank Ltd. ``That should bring back overseas investors to Indian assets.''
The rupee rose 0.7 percent to 48.10 per dollar as of 9:25 a.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1 percent to 86.94.
Funds based abroad sold Indian equities worth a record $10.2 billion more than they bought this year, data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India show. Their net purchases totaled $17.2 billion in 2007, an all-time high.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said the country may ``escape the worst consequences'' of the global financial crisis even as its currency and stock markets experience some impact.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anoop Agrawal in Mumbai at aagrawal8@bloomberg.net.