MUMBAI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee rose to its strongest level in three weeks on Monday, aided by broad-based offers to sell dollars after mixed U.S. economic data did little to aid the greenback.
The rupee was at 83.06 against the U.S. dollar as of 10:08 a.m. IST, higher by 0.1% compared with its close at 83.15 in the previous session. The rupee rose to an intra-day high of 83.0550 in early trading.
The dollar index was little changed at 102.49 but had risen above the 103 handle on Friday after data showed that the U.S. economy created more jobs than expected in December.
The U.S. economy added 216,000 new jobs in December, well above the 170,000 forecasted by economists polled by Reuters.
However, the dollar shed its gains after the ISM services purchasing managers' index showed U.S. services sector slowed considerably in December.
The rupee's gains Monday were aided by broad-based offers to sell dollars, a foreign exchange trader at a state-run bank said.
A break of the rupee's "strong resistance" at 83 could create room more appreciation, the trader added.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil futures fell by over 1% to $77.93 per barrel on the back of sharp price cuts by Saudi Arabia and a rise in OPEC output.
A continuation of dollar inflows and robust domestic economic data should support further strengthening of the rupee, Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex said.
After the mixed U.S. economic data only marginally moved the needle on Federal Reserve rate cut expectations, the focus this week will be on U.S. consumer inflation data due on Thursday.
Investors are currently pricing in a nearly 64% chance that the Fed will cut rates in March, down from 68% as of Jan. 5, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala
