Rupee may firm up; bond yields likely to fall

The rupee is expected to strengthen further this week on the back of dollar inflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and gains tracking the strengthening of the euro against the dollar.

The rupee ended at Rs 54.29 against the dollar on Friday compared with the previous close of Rs 54.57, on custodian dollar flows, said dealers.

"The rupee is expected to trade in the range of Rs 53.75-54.50 per dollar. The bias is more towards strengthening,"said Sandeep Gonsalves, forex consultant and dealer, Mecklai & Mecklai.

On Friday the rupee followed the euro's movement which had strengthened against the greenback. Meanwhile, FIIs pumped $215.95 million in to the domestic markets on Friday compared with $232.20 million the previous day.

Meanwhile, government bond yields are expected to drop further from current levels as the Street expects inflation data for February, due this week to be benign. The wholesale price index (WPI) inflation eased to a three-year low of 6.62 per cent in January compared to 7.23 per cent in the same month last year.

The yield on the 10-year benchmark government bond 8.15 per cent 2022 ended at 7.84 per cent compared with the previous close of 7.86 per cent.

The Street expects the Reserve Bank of India to slash the repo rate by 25 basis points in the mid-quarter review of the monetary policy to be announced later this month.