Rupee falls 37 paise to end at 3-month low

The rupee on Monday fell by 37 paise to close at a near three-month low of 51.67/68 against the US currency following heavy dollar demand from importers and some banks amid strong dollar overseas.

Fresh dollar demand from importers and some banks in view of strong dollar in international market mainly affected the rupee value, a dealer said.

The marginal decrease in headline inflation found mark in investors sentiment ahead of RBI's annual policy announcement tomorrow. The BSE benchmark Sensex ended higher by 56.44 points, or 0.33 per cent on Monday.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit opened lower at 51.61/62 a dollar from the last close 51.30/31. The rupee dropped further to 51.75 per dollar before ending at 51.67/68 per dollar.

Bond firms up, call rate recovers
Government securities (G-Sec) firmed up on good buying support from banks and corporates.

The 8.79 per cent (G-Sec) maturing in 2021 moved up to Rs 102.16 from Rs 102.0650 previously, while its yield eased to 8.45 per cent from 8.47 per cent. The 9.15 per cent (G-Sec) maturing in 2024 shot up to Rs 104.8550 from Rs 104.64, while its yield moved down to 8.51 per cent from 8.54 per cent.

The overnight call money rate finished higher at 8.75 per cent from last Friday's close of 8.50 per cent. It moved in a range of 9.00 per cent and 8.70 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) purchased securities worth Rs 79,100 crore from 40 bids at the one-day repo auction at a fixed rate of 8.50 per cent.