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Corporates off-load $; rupee gains three paise; Rs 42.48/49

The rupee ended three paise higher against the greenback on better dollar off-loading by corporates and lower demand at a quiet interbank foreign exchange market today.

Opening slightly higher at Rs 42.50/51, the rupee hovered around the same level till noon with moderate demand and supply.

However, in the afternoon, the market witnessed good dollar sales by the corporates and slack demand, pushing up the rupee to close at Rs 42.48/49 against Rs 42.51/52 of the previous day, gaining three paise.

Dealers said that corporates and banks sold the dollar accumulated in two days due to the bank strike on Tuesday.

Forward markets witnessed good activity and the forward premia moved up marginally due to some paying pressure. Near forward premia hardened between 2-5 paise while far-forwards rose by 5-7 paise. The sixth-month annualised and yearly premia closed higher at 6.59 per cent and 7.29 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India maintained its reference rate for US dollar at Rs 42.50.

Cash/spot ended at 1.25-1.50 paise premium while cash/tomorrow finished at 0.50-0.75 paise premium. The month-wise premia in paise were: January 9-11, February 27-30, March 48-52, April 77-80, May 98-102, June 123-127, July 149-153, August 176-181, September 201-206, October 230-235, November 259-265 and December 292-295.

The rupee weakened slightly lower against the euro, pound sterling and yen. It ended against euro at Rs 49.59 (Rs 48.80), sterling at Rs 69.98 (Rs 69.30) and yen at Rs 37.98 (Rs 37.80).

In the domestic money maraket, the call money interest rates ruled higher and closed at 10.25-10.50 per cent on good demand for funds ahead of the reporting Friday.

In Tokyo, the dollar edged higher against the yen on Wednesday morning after Bank of Japan's currency intervention the previous day. The dollar bought 112.54 yen in late morning, up by 0.4 yen.

The euro was quoted at 130.12 yen, up from 127.83 yen of the previous day.

UNI

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