Rupee rules firm at 66.19 vs. dollar, up 2 paise

Strong equities boosted the Indian currency.

Rising for the eighth straight session, the rupee on Monday gained two paise to close at 66.19 against the American currency on sustained selling of dollar by banks and exporters amid robust foreign capital inflows.

Strong equities boosted the rupee against the dollar. The benchmark BSE Sensex ended higher by 195.42 points or 0.76 per cent to 26,034.13.

Resumes at 66.10

The rupee resumed higher at 66.10 as against the last Wednesday’s closing level of 66.21 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market.

It moved in a range of 66.08 and 66.22 during the day before finishing at 66.19, showing a gain of two paise or 0.03 per cent. It has gained by 90 paise or 1.34 per cent in last eight trading days.

The dollar index was down by 0.06 per cent against the basket of six currencies in the late afternoon trade.

However, the dollar was a tad higher against the yen during Monday’s trading session in Asia, as the greenback failed to maintain gains from mid-morning buying amid a lack of fresh trading cues.

Amid thinned-volume trade toward the year-end holiday in Japan, the greenback gained to the intra-day high during the mid-morning trade, suggesting that there was dip-buying demand from Japanese importers, corporate investors and others.

Opened on a positive note

Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group CEO, said, “Today [Monday], the rupee opened on a positive note but as the day progressed, the rupee depreciated as we seen buying in USD at lower levels. The rupee closed on a flat note down by two paise at 66.19 levels trading range for the spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 66 to 66.75 range.”

Premium for dollar eases

In forward market on Monday, premium for dollar eased further on sustained receivings from exporters.

The benchmark six-month premium payable in May fell to 178-180 paise from 180.5-182 paise last Wednesday and far forward November 2016 contract also moved down to 387.5-389.5 paise from 391-392.5 paise.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 66.1380 and for the euro at 72.5534.

Slips against pound sterling

In cross-currency trades, the rupee slipped against the pound sterling to end at 98.72 from the previous closing level of 98.55 and moved down against the euro to settle at 72.72 as compared to 72.38, previously.

It also declined against the Japanese yen to 54.94 per yen from 54.77 last Wednesday.