Finance
In a low-volume session, the rupee recovered from minor losses to close flat today, as exporters likely sold dollars, dealers said, while forward premiums fell for the third day in a row.
The rupee closed at 82.8575 per dollar, essentially unchanged. It rose to 82.9225 during the session, but only moved in a 10-paisa range.
Over the last two weeks, the 82.80-82.90 range has served as a strong support zone for the currency.
According to a trader, there were some monthly futures expiry-related outflows, but it was largely quiet in thin volume trade.
According to a state-run bank dealer, the rupee likely recovered from the day’s low due to dollar sales by exporters, though the rupee trading near 83-levels made investors nervous.
For the third day in a row, USD/INR forward premiums fell, with the 1-year implied yield falling 8 basis points to 2.06%.
Traders attributed the drop to interest in far forwards and a lack of bids from the central bank.
However, premiums were still about 45 basis points higher than the more-than-decade low reached earlier in December.
Meanwhile, the dollar index was unchanged at 104.240 after China announced on Monday that it would repeal its COVID-19 quarantine rule for inbound travelers, despite an increase in COVID cases.
Most Asian currencies fell as investors debated China’s policy shift.
Source:Syndicate feed
