Rupee up, in step with Sensex

Mumbai, Aug 20 (PTI) The Indian rupee on Thursday
appreciated further by nine paise against the American
currency following positive trends in equity markets despite
sustained capital outflows.

In see-saw trade at the Interbank Stock Exchange market,
the domestic unit opened higher at 48.74/76 a dollar against
Tuesday's close of 48.79/80.

But it moved erratically in the range 48.80-48.60 on
alternate bouts of buying and selling before ending the day at
48.70/71 a dollar.

According to forex dealers, strong equity markets till
late afternoon led the rupee to touch an intra-day high of
48.60 but a sudden sell-off at the fag end in equities put
pressure on the rupee.

Dollar buying by importers, mainly oil refiners, also put
some pressure on the rupee and it touched a low of 48.80, they
added.

The benchmark Sensex was up by over 335 points in
intra-day trade but lost part of early gains, but still ended
up by 203 points or 1.50 per cent.

The dollar turned lower in the New York market on
Wednesday on firm US equities and a rally in crude oil prices
following an unexpected drop in the government's reading of
weekly petroleum supplies.

Global crude oil was trading above USD 72 a barrel in
Asian trade on Thursday.

Meanwhile, after declining to a three-decade low of (-)
1.74 per cent in the previous week, inflation rose marginally
to (-)1.53 per cent during the week ended August 10.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), however, fixed the
reference rate for the US dollar at Rs 48.70 and for the euro
at Rs 69.35.

The rupee premiums on the forward dollar remained weak
on sustained receivings by exporters.

The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable
in January ended lower at 54-1/2 - 56-1/2 paise from 56-58
paise on Tuesday and far-forwards maturing in July also closed
down at 108-1/2-110-1/2 paise from 112-114 paise previously.

In cross-currency trade, the local unit ended stable
against the pound while declining against the euro and the
Japanese yen.

The rupee closed steady against the pound to end at its
previous closing level of Rs 80.26/28 while dropped further
against the euro to Rs 69.28/30 from Rs 68.89/91 previously.

It also dipped against the Japanese yen to Rs 51.73/75
per 100 yen from its last close of Rs 51.38/40. PTI VMP
SDE
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