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Rupee dips, then steadies against dollar

The rupee, after some initial weakening, ended nearly steady against the US greenback on a fairly active foreign exchange market today.

Opening lower at 42.4650/47, the rupee came under some pressure as banks and corporates bought the dollar, pushing it lower to 42.47/48 level in the morning. But fresh dollar sales by banks, especially foreign ones, later helped the Indian currency recover and close steady at 42.44/4450 as against the previous 42.4450/4500.

Forward premia drifted slightly lower in the absence of paying pressure and scattered receiving. Monthly premia eased by 2-3 paise. The six-month annualised and yearly premia ended at 6.99 per cent and 7.33 per cent respectively.

Cash/spot ended higher at 3.00-3.50 paise premium while cash/tom finished at 0.50-0.75 paise premium. The monthwise premiums in paise were: March 12-13, April 36-38, May 59-61, June 86-88, July 110-113, August 135-138, September 161-164, October 191-193, November 219-222, December 246-249, January 273-276 and February 298-301.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for the US dollar one paise higher at Rs 42.45 as against the previous close of Rs 42.44.

The rupee declined marginally against the pound sterling and the Japanese yen, while it firmed up a bit against the euro. The rupee ended at 68.89 (68.27 yesterday) against the pound sterling, 35.23 (35.19) against 100 yen and 46.28 (46.50) against the euro.

The call rates ruled between 8.10 per cent and 8.50 level, before closing marginally higher at 8.10-8.30 per cent.

UNI

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