The Iranian currency was trading at under 30,000 to the dollar today morning compared to 35,000 a week ago, media and dealers said.
The rial had lost more than two-thirds of its value against the dollar since early 2012 when the United States and the European Union announced new sanctions against Iran's oil exports and access to the global banking system.
The sanctions have been blamed by the government for most of the problems in Iran, where oil exports plummeted by 40 percent in 2012 while inflation is officially running at more than 30 percent.
"Many Iranians had bought dollars and were stashing them at home but now they are selling because they fear that the perspective of a dialogue with the United States and a more subtle diplomacy on the nuclear front could strengthen the rial," a currency dealer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
According to the central bank, Iranians have collectively stashed around USD 18 billion in their homes.
Analysts have said that Rowhani's election, which ended eight years of conservative rule by outgoing president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, could soothe tensions with the West.
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