Re Slips, But Rallies Smartly On Home Run

Dealers attributed the sharp movement in the spot market to the large dollar purchases made by various banks, especially the State Bank of India (SBI).

According to dealers, the Indian currency opened in the range of 35.78 -35.79, after which the SBI started bidding for dollars, apparently at 35.80. At this point, there was a sharp upswing in dollar rates, and the rupee to declined to 35.82-35.84. The Indian currency then slid to 35.86, the highest in the past few days.

This was, however, followed by a sizeable dollar sell-off, which perked up the rupee to 35.82. The dollar reportedly remained anchored at this quote until late afternoon.

 

Then, after the SBI's exit from the market, a larger sell-off in dollars ensued, which propelled the rupee to 35.72-35.73. This was also the closing quote for the day.

Forward dollar premiums, however, were unchanged over Thursday's figures. Monthly premium rates were quoting at 9/13 paise for September, 42/46 paise for October, 71/76 paise for November, 104/109 paise for December, 143/148 paise for January, 176/180 paise for February and 205/210 paise for March. The annualised rates, too, were unchanged at 10.4 per cent.

International markets remained range-bound for most of the day. Dealers said trading was subdued as markets expected the US payroll data, which could trigger off a movement on the greenback.

The dollar-mark rates quoting between 1.4840 and 1.4850, while the dollar-yen rates were between 109.05 and 109.15.