Thursday, 2 April 2015 00:05
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Reuters: Rupee forwards ended firmer on Wednesday as inflows from strong remittances and exporter dollar sales outpaced light importer demand for the greenback, dealers said.
Actively traded two-week forwards ended at 133.68/72 per dollar, compared with Tuesday’s close of 133.75/80.
One-week forwards ended steady at 133.60/70 per dollar as a state bank bought dollars to cover import bills, dealers said.
“The importer demand is drying down and remittances are picking up,” said a currency dealer on condition of anonymity.
Dealers said people were converting dollars into rupees ahead of public holidays on 3, 13 and 14 April.
They expect the downward pressure on the currency to ease with a pick-up in seasonal inward remittances ahead of the Sinhala-Tamil New Year on 14 April.
They expect seasonal inward remittances to continue until mid-April.
The Central Bank through moral suasion prevented the spot rupee from dropping below 132.90/133.20, a limit it set in February.
Central Bank officials were not available for comment.
Dealers said the market may wait for more cues on interest rates after T-bill yields fell for a third straight week.
Yields on T-bills fell between 55 basis points and 63 basis points in the last three weekly auctions, though the fall in interest rates is slowing.
