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Range-bound trading keeps rupee steady; Rs 42.74 vs $

The rupee ruled in a tight range and ended nearly steady at Rs 42.7350/7425 at a dull interbank foreign exchange market today.

Opening steady at Rs 42.73/74, the Indian currency witnessed little movement, fluctuating just half a paisa either side and ended nearly steady at Rs 42.7350/7425 as against the previous day's close of 42.7325/7400.

Dealers said the market witnessed very thin trading volumes and the rupee remained steady as the dollar supply and demand was almost matching. There was not any significant deal place today as major corporates stayed away, they added.

Forward market also witnessed nominal activity today and premia further drifted lower by 1-2 paise in the absence of paying pressure and scattered receiving. The six-month and annualised premia closed a bit lower at 5.14 and 6.13 per cent respectively.

Cash/spot and cash/tomorrow premia ended at 1.00-1.25 paise and 0.50-0.75 paise respectively. The month-wise premia in paise were: May 0.75-1.00, June 15-17, July 32-34, August 50-52, September 70-72, October 90-92, November 112-114, December 133-135, January 163-165, February 187-189, March 212-214 and April 234-236.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India maintained its reference rate for US dollar at Rs 42.75 per US dollar today.

In the cross currency segment, the rupee staged a mild rally against pound sterling and euro while it remained nearly steady against the Japanese yen. Sterling ended at Rs 68.39 (68.68), euro at Rs 45.21 (45.29) and yen at Rs 34.50 (34.48).

In the interbank call money market, the call rates ruled in a narrow range of 8.00-8.25 per cent throughout the day and closed at 8.00-8.10 per cent.

In Tokyo, the US dollar edged higher against the yen on Monday despite profit-taking, in reaction to last week's surge to seven-month highs. Japanese stocks advanced moderately.

The dollar bought 124.04 yen in late afternoon trading, up 0.28 yen from late Friday in Tokyo and also above its level of 124.01 yen late Friday in New York.

The euro was traded at 131.22 yen, up from 131.17 yen late Friday in tokyo.

UNI

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