MUMBAI: The Indian rupee rose, after earlier hitting a three-week high against the dollar, on continued strong buying of debt and shares by foreign investors, while gains in emerging market currencies also contributed to the improved sentiment.

The rupee was also helped after Bloomberg quoted an analyst at Standard & Poor’s calling the Indian government’s target to lower the fiscal deficit a positive for the country’s ratings, helping the currency rise to a session’s high.

The rupee put on 0.5 percent for the week, a third straight week of gains, as foreign funds turned active buyers of Indian assets, especially debt, despite lingering concerns in global markets including the prospect of earlier-than-expected US rate hikes.

The rupee closed at 60.4650/4750 per dollar compared with 60.67/68 in the previous session. The unit rose to 60.3750, its strongest level since July 31.