The rupee surged as much as 0.8 percent to 39.90 against the dollar, the highest since May 14, 1998, before trading at 40.00 as of 9:28 a.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Cheung said the central bank may sell the currency to hold it at 40. The rupee failed to break 40.20 yesterday on speculation the Reserve Bank of India was intervening. The monetary authority bought $11.4 billion in July, the most since February, central bank data show. The RBI said on Sept. 14 it intervenes in currency markets, arranging purchases or sales of foreign exchange to contain volatility. The rupee may rise to 39 by the end of 2008, Cheung said. The median forecast of 19 strategists surveyed by Bloomberg is 40. Overseas funds bought $9.5 billion of Indian equities more than they sold this year, compared with $8 billion in all of 2006, according to the Securities & Exchange Board of India. Rate Advantage ``The outperformer in Asia is the Indian rupee,'' said Tetsuo Yoshikoshi, a market analyst at the treasury unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in Singapore. ``We're seeing a lot of investor inflows into India.'' http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a8E8CSqcL7_E&refer=home Sometimes it´s a good idea to take a look beyond one´s own nose...
But seriously, have you talked to anybody lately who's bragged about the big-money that they've made in East Indian equities? No, I didn't think so.