The Indian rupee climbed for a third consecutive session against the dollar on speculative dollar sales and exporter covering.

The rupee was traded at 72.46 compared with 72.51 in the previous session. The local unit had risen to 72.31 earlier in the session, but trimmed gains on state-run banks' dollar purchases.

The one-year forward premium was at 3.57 rupees against 3.82 rupees in the previous session.

The rupee, in early trades, was helped by the dollar index falling to 89.94, its lowest level in over one month. The index was tad higher at 90.17 after having dropped more than a percent over the previous three sessions.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before the Congress today amid expectations that the U.S. central bank will tolerate high inflation without hiking policy rates immediately. Powell’s views on this year’s run-up in U.S. bond yields will be closely analyzed.

The concern for policymakers and for investors is that if yields rise too quickly, it would imperil the economic outlook.