December 31, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 26, 1423

MUMBAI, Dec 30: The Indian rupee closed at a new 12-month peak on Monday, riding on a spurt in foreign inflows and a globally weaker dollar.

The unit closed at 47.9375/9400 per dollar, surpassing the previous 47.99/48.00.

It climbed as high as 47.9225 in intraday trade before state-run banks intervened on behalf of the central bank.

The general feeling is that the rupee could gain a little more as the dollar continues to weaken, said a trader with a state-run bank. Dollar supplies are also strong, and only the central bank support (for the dollar) is slowing a rise.

The rupee, which has appreciated by 2.38 per cent from a life low of 49.08 in mid-May, has benefited from robust trade and other inflows. Remittances by expatriate Indians have risen because of higher local interest rates and jitters over a US-led strike on Iraq.

Forex reserves jumped $1.073 billion to a record $69.508 billion in the week to December 20, the highest weekly rise since the week ended March 22.—Reuters