Underpinned by a retreat in the US dollar, the battered rupee rebounded smartly from its 39-month low, ending 27 paise higher at 68.46 to the dollar amid adequate supply of the greenback.
Aggressive selling of the American unit by exporters and banks added to the recovery momentum even as the central bank intervened through State-owned lenders.
The local unit opened a tad higher at 68.72 against the overnight closing level of 68.73 at the forex market and continued its strong recovery to hit a fresh intra-day high of 68.30 in late afternoon deals. It ended at 68.46, a neat 27 paise gain — snapping its five straight days of retreat.