Rupee reverses course, down 7 paise vs dollar in late morning

Rupee washed out its initial gains and was quoted lower by 7 paise to 66.96 against the American currency in the late morning deals on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers amid reports that the Commerce Ministry might propose devaluation of the rupee to boost exports.
The domestic currency resumed higher at 66.88 per dollar as against the closing level of 66.89 per dollar the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and firmed up further to 66.82 per dollar on initial dollar selling from banks and exporters on the back of lower dollar in the overseas market.
There were reports today that the Commerce Ministry, headed by Nirmala Sitharaman, is working on a strategy, which included proposing devaluation of the rupee to give a boost to sagging goods and services exports.

It washed out initial gains and dropped to 67.0750 per dollar on fresh dollar demand before quoting at 66.96 per dollar at 1100 hrs.
It hovered in a range of 66.82 per dollar and 67.0750 per dollar during the morning trade.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 477.33 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

In overseas market, the yen was stronger against its peers during Asia trade with weakness in Tokyo stocks prompting investors to buy the perceived safety of Japanese currency.
FIIs continued their selling spree for the third straight
day and sold shares worth Rs 632.29 crore.

However, domestic equities showed more resilient to a Fed rate hike with the benchmark Sensex falling by just 83.77 points to end at 26,519.07, while broader Nifty fell 28.85 points at 8,153.60.
In the forward market, premium for dollar displayed a steady to easy trend in the absence of any market moving factors.
The benchmark six-month premium for May was quoted at 131-133 paise from 131-132 paise, while far-forward November 2017 contract moved down to 273-275 paise from 275-277 paise yesterday.
On the global commodity front, crude prices rebounded on Thursday following sharp decline in the previous session on the back of a stronger dollar.