Spot Slips A Wee Bit, Forwards Tranquil

The spot rupee ended marginally lower at 47.1250, as against yesterday's close of 47.1150 on the back of thin volumes. Forward premiums closed unchanged due to a dull day.

The spot rupee opened at Thursday's close and was confined in a narrow range of 47.11-47.1250. Supply adequately matching demand kept the spot rupee quiet through the day, ending a paisa lower from previous close.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s reference rate for the dollar today was Rs 47.12 against 47.16 yesterday. "The spot rupee remained quiet today, as there was very little demand to push the rupee lower," said a dealer with a new private sector bank.

"The supplies were primarily from nationalised banks which kept the rupee stable," he added. "The volumes continued to remain lean with demand and supply being matched off. That was perhaps why the spot rupee kept such a narrow range through the day," said a dealer with a foreign bank.

In the coming week, the spot rupee should keep a broad range of 47.09-47.18. "The spot rupee should continue in the same stable vein, even in the next week. For Monday, the spot rupee should move around 47.10-47.15," said a dealer with a public sector bank.

Forward premiums closed unchanged from its previous close, after a day of lacklustre activity. The benchmark 6-month annualised premium ended the day at 4.75 per cent as on Thursday. While the one-year annualised closed the day at 4.70 per cent against 4.72 per cent on the previous day.

"The premiums remained dull today as some banks received today and moved in a tight band. In the coming week also, the premiums should remain range bound around 4.60-4.80 per cent across the board," said a foreign exchange dealer.

"Call rates also was easy which closed around 6.90-7 per cent. This, along with easy liquidity, kept the premiums range bound," said a dealer with a new private sector bank.

The coming week should see the 6-month annualised premiums around 4.60-4.80 per cent while the one-year annualised should remain grooved around 4.70-4.85 per cent.