The rupee continued its rally against the US currency, gaining more than 8 paise in late morning trade, buoyed largely by fresh FII inflows and weak dollar overseas.
In fairly active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local currency resumed firm at 40.72/74 a dollar from overnight close of 40.7950/8050 per dollar and later touched 40.68 level before being quoted at 40.71/72 per dollar in late morning deals.
Consistent dollar inflows and pressure on the greenback in global markets aided the rupee sentiment, forex dealers said.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England both held their key interest rates steady on Thursday in the face of volatility in the global financial markets.