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Dull trading keeps rupee steady; ends a tad lower at Rs 42.51/52 vs $

The rupee ended a notch lower against the US dollar after a dull trading session at the interbank foreign exchange market in Bombay today.

The Indian unit opened at Rs 42.50/51 vs dollar and fell to Rs 42.53/54 on demand from some quarters. The rupee, finally, ended at Rs 42.51/52 as compared to the previous close of Rs 42.4950/5050.

The forwards perked up on bookings by importers, but ended at the previous levels. The monthly premiums (in paise) were 16-18 for March, 43-46 for April, 66-69 for May, 94-97 for June, 120-123 for July, 147-150 for August and 174-177 for September. The six-month annualised premia ended at 7.31 per cent.

Cash/spot ended at 2.00-2.25 paise, cash/tomorrow at 0.25-0.50 paise and tomorrow/spot at 1.75-2.00 paise

At the Tokyo forex market, the US dollar soared against the yen after the head of a Japanese ruling party committee on finance signalled his support for additional measures to drive down interest rates.

The dollar bought 122.58 yen in late afternoon trading, up 1.40 yen from late Wednesday in Tokyo and also above its late New York level of 121.77 yen overnight.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate at Rs 42.53 a dollar from the previous fix of Rs 42.55.

The rupee ended at Rs 68.46 a pound sterling, Rs 34.55 yen and Rs 46.16 euro.

UNI

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