Rupee gains; RBI takes action on oil companies' dollar demand

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee strengthened against the dollar on Wednesday after the central bank asked state-run oil companies to purchase dollars from a single bank in a bid to support the declining domestic currency.

The Reserve Bank of India has asked state-run oil companies to buy dollars from a single bank, a source privy to the advice from the central bank told Reuters on Tuesday.

Oil companies are the biggest Indian buyers of dollars, so keeping down the number of people who know they are seeking dollars could help contain the rupee's volatility, dealers say.

The partially convertible rupee was at 59.99/60.00 per dollar at 9:01 a.m. (0331 GMT), compared to its close of 60.14/15 on Tuesday. (Reporting by Swati Bhat; Editing by Rafael Nam)