Rupee gains 5 paise on dollar selling

The rupee on Wednesday ended marginally higher by five paise at 49.15/16 against the American currency, on account of mild dollar selling by banks and exporters on the back of persistent capital inflows. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the rupee resumed higher at 49.05/06 a dollar and moved up further to 48.9850 before settling at 49.15/16. Fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters in view of sustained capital inflows from foreign funds into equity markets mainly boosted the rupee value against the dollar, a forex dealer said. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex recovered by 85 points, or 0.48 per cent, to finish at 17,707.32.

Bonds drop further
Government securities (G-Sec) dropped further on sustained selling pressure from banks and companies. The 8.79 per cent (G-Sec) maturing in 2021 drifted lower at Rs 103.67 from Rs 103.9725 yesterday, while its yield moved up to 8.23 per cent from 8.19 per cent. The 9.15 per cent (G-Sec) maturing in 2024 declined to Rs 106.25 from Rs 106.58, while its yield firmed up to 8.34 per cent from 8.30 per cent. The 7.83 per cent (G-Sec) maturing in 2018 fell to Rs 97.90 from Rs 98.1250, while its yield rose to 8.27 per cent from 8.22 per cent.

Call rates improve further
Call rates edged up further at the overnight money market here on Wednesday, due to increased demand from borrowing banks. The overnight call money rate finished slightly higher at 8.80 per cent from yesterday's close of 8.75 per cent. It moved in a range of 8.85 per cent and 8.60 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India, under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) purchased securities worth Rs 1,04,925 crore from 43 bids at the one-day repo auction, at a fixed rate of 8.50 per cent.