The Indian rupee strengthened sharply on Wednesday, helped along by foreign portfolio inflows linked to Jio Platforms' IPO while persistently elevated oil prices kept traders cautious about positioning for further gains in the unit. 43 earlier in the day, its strongest level since early September.

It trimmed gains in the latter half of the session as oil prices rose and local stocks fell. Escalating Middle East tensions fuelled fears of supply disruptions, lifting oil prices after Iran told Pakistan's army chief there would be no talks with Washington until its demands were met."

Volatility in oil will keep rupee a little on the defensive but sharp falls are unlikely in the near term," a trader at a state-run lender said. 2 billion IPO aided the rupee.

The IPO was fully subscribed in less than two hours of public bidding on Wednesday as investors flocked to India's largest share sale." 70.

00 over the coming weeks, keeping the near-term outlook favourable for the rupee," said Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex. 8.

Focus will now turn to the release of the minutes of the RBI's latest monetary policy review held earlier this month. The central bank had delivered its first rate hike in four years on October 7 and signalled more were likely to come.

54% in September. Swap markets are currently pricing in over 100 bps of rate hikes by the RBI over the next 12 months.