Re Range-Bound, Closes At 38.70-75

FOREX REPORT

For the second consecutive day Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened in the forward market through swaps (January-July, January-August), and ensured that premiums did not move up. The rupee was range-bound yesterday against the dollar.

One-month premium closed at 41.18 per cent, three-month at 26.2 per cent and six-month premiums at around 19 per cent.

The rupee opened in the region of 38.75-80 and then strengthened to 38.60-63 and buying by State Bank of India (SBI) saw the rupee slipping to 38.70-75 by the end of the day.

During the course of next week, dealers expect the rupee to trade in the range of 38.50-39 to a dollar. They expect importers to come in at the lower levels while there will be selling at higher levels. The cash-tom was 26-32 paise, tom spot 5-10 paise and cash spot 35-40 paise.

 

According to market estimates the apex bank might have intervened in the forward market to the tune of $ 30 million.

Yesterday, the monthly premiums (in paise) were : Jan - 5-8; Feb - 128-133; March - 194-199; April - 250-260; May - 290-300; June - 335-345, July - 370-380; Aug - 400-410; Sep - 440-450; Oct - 480-490; Nov - 520-530; and Dec - 560-570. In the crosses, rupee closed at 63.68 against pound, 21.48 against mark, and 30.50 per 100 Japanese yen.