Rising for the third straight day, the rupee strengthened by 55 paise to settle at 73.57 against the US dollar Friday, marking its biggest gain in over three weeks as global crude prices eased and domestic indices staged a smart rebound.

Steps taken by the government to curb non-essential imports and anticipation of more measures to attract foreign inflows have boosted sentiment in the market, traders said.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened on a strong note at 73.84 from Thursday’s close of 74.12.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex Friday posted its biggest single-day gain in 19 months, soaring over 700 points.