Rupee snaps 3-day gains, down 3 paise to 66.03

Snapping 3-day winning spree, the Indian rupee declined marginally by 3 paise to 66.03 per dollar on fresh demand for the US currency from banks and importers.

The rupee opened higher at 65.95 per dollar as against Monday’s closing level of 66.00 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and firmed up further to 65.90 on initial dollar selling by exporters.

However, it washed out initial gains and dropped to 66.10 on fag-end dollar demand from banks and importers before settling at 66.03, showing a mere loss of three paise or 0.05 per cent.

It had gained by 44 paise or 0.66 per cent in the previous three days.

It hovered in the range of 65.90 to 66.10 per dollar during the day.

The dollar index was trading up by 0.10 per cent against a basket of six currencies in the late afternoon trade.

In overseas markets, oil prices extended gains in early Asia trade but the uptick was capped as investors waited for data on US crude stockpiles expected to further underscore a global supply glut.

The dollar hit a fresh seven-month high against the euro and a one-week high against the yen during Asia trade on Tuesday, indicating investor expectations for an increase US interest rates next month that would bring added strength to the greenback remain intact.

Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark Sensex rose by 104.37 points or 0.41 per cent to close at 25,864.47. .
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 1,051.26 crore on Monday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

In forward market on Tuesday, premium for dollar declined further on sustained receipts from exporters.

The benchmark six-month premium payable in April moved down further to 192.5-194.5 paise from 193.5-195.5 paise on Monday and far forward October 2016 contract also eased to 400-402 paise from 401.5-403 paise.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 65.9805 and for the Euro at 70.3484.

The rupee moved down against the pound sterling to end at 100.43 compared to 100.30 on Monday while firmed up further against the euro to settle at 70.47 against 70.85.

The domestic currency also moved up further against the Japanese currency to close at 53.60 per 100 yen from 53.63.

[“source-businesstoday”]