LONDON (Dow Jones)--The Reserve Bank of India was seen selling dollars "aggressively" Thursday to support the rupee, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires. The Indian currency rose sharply in response to the suspected intervention, pushing the dollar down to INR51.52 from around INR51.57. The rupee was Asia's worst-performing currency in 2011, bearing the brunt of risk aversion stemming from the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, which has magnified concerns about India's high inflation, slowing growth and the risk of an increase in the fiscal deficit. As a result, the dollar surged to a record high of INR54.295 on Dec. 15. At 1144 GMT the dollar was trading at INR51.59 against the rupee, compared with INR51.83 late Wednesday in New York. -By Clare Connaghan, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9496, clare.connaghan@dowjones.com (Sudeep Jain in Mumbai contributed to this article.)

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