Rupee holds steady as exporters delay dollar hedging amid volatility

The Indian rupee was little changed on Monday amid a buoyant U.S. dollar and a central bank that does not want the currency to slip, while exporters waited for better levels to hedge their future foreign currency receipts.

The rupee was quoting at 84.0775 to the U.S. dollar at 11:14 a.m. IST, barely changed from 84.08 in the previous session. The currency's intraday range so far has been less than a paisa.

The rupee's very muted price action to kick off the week is a repeat of the previous two weeks.

Thanks to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) intervention to keep the rupee from dropping past the current level, the currency's near-term volatility has plunged. The 7-day daily realised volatility is just 0.1%, the lowest in at least 30 years.

Amid this intervention to support the rupee, Indian exporters are waiting.

Most exporters reckon that the risks that rupee will depreciate from here are much higher than it will appreciate, a forex salesperson at a mid-sized private sector bank said.

"Exhaustion has set in to sell (dollars) at this level and they are now counting on higher levels (on dollar/rupee)."

DOLLAR, US YIELDS KEEP RISING

The dollar index inched past 104.50 in Asia, taking its rally this month to 3.8%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is up nearly 50 basis points month-to-date.

The dollar and yields have been pushing higher on the back of rising odds of Donald Trump winning the U.S. elections and data that has indicated the U.S. economy remains healthy.

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