Rupee edges down on importer dollar demand

Friday, 22 January 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: The rupee ended slightly weaker on Thursday due to importer dollar demand, while selling of the US currency by a private bank prevented a sharp fall, dealers said.

The private bank might have sold dollars on behalf of the Central Bank, some dealers said. Officials at the central bank were not available for comment on the matter. The rupee ended at 144.00/144.10 per dollar, slightly weaker from Wednesday’s close of 143.95/144.10.

“A private bank sold dollars at 143.90 and prevented the fall,” said a currency dealer, asking not to be named.

The dollar selling by the private bank has prevented a fall in the last few days, dealers said.

The market, however, expects pressure on the rupee to ease due to a 150-basis-point increase in the statutory reserve ratio of commercial banks from 16 January and on expected inflows from foreign deposits.

The yield on one-year T-bills rose 32 basis points to hover at more than two-year high of 7.80% at the weekly auction on Wednesday. Analysts expect market interest rates also to rise in tandem with T-bill yields.

Commercial banks parked Rs. 56.968 billion ($395.75 million) of surplus liquidity on Thursday using the central bank’s deposit facility at 6%, official data showed.

The Central Bank’s net holding of government securities increased by Rs. 25.535 billion on Thursday, official data showed.