April 17 – India’s rupee may strengthen almost 6 percent to reach 47 a dollar in six months on better prospects for global growth and an increase in foreign investment, according to Barclays Plc.

Asia’s third-biggest economy may see a recovery in the three months ending Dec. 31, after the growth rate reaches a “bottom” in the prior quarter, helping the nation post a balance of payments surplus in the second half of the year, Sailesh Jha, an economist at the world’s third-largest currency trader, wrote in a research report dated yesterday. He had forecast last month that the rupee would drop to a record-low 56 by end-June.

“In our view, the government believes that the worst of the slowdown in growth is over,” Singapore-based Jha wrote. “The risks to our growth forecast are tilted to the upside versus our previous assessment of risks to the downside.”

The rupee traded at 49.77 per dollar as of 10:34 a.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It has rallied 5 percent since touching a record low of 52.185 on March 3.

The median estimate of 25 strategists surveyed by Bloomberg News is for the rupee to weaken to 50 by end-September and to reach 48.98 by the end of the year.