RBI's LEF, forex intervention and Covid-19 push up short-term premium

Rates spike when there are huge dollars in the cash market but not enough takers to swap for a future date

A glut of dollars in the interbank market has pushed up cash-spot forward rates higher as contracts matured and foreign banks, hit by rules coming in the way of sending the greenback to the US treasury, struggled to clear their dollars while public sector banks stayed put.

Cash-spot is an interbank market that sees huge transactions. The market comprises three rates — spot, cash, and tom (short for tomorrow). 

“There is mayhem in forwards on account of dislocation in cash-spot points. Cash tom is trading at 3.25 paise, which is equivalent to a yield of 16 per cent,” said Abhishek Goenka, managing