Rupee at 1-week high on exporter dollar sales

Saturday, 25 January 2014 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: The rupee ended at a one-week high on Friday, gaining for a second straight day, due to exporter dollar conversions in the absence of

importer demand for the greenback, dealers said. The spot rupee closed at 130.60/70 per dollar, its highest since 17 January and firmer than Thursday’s close of 130.73/76. “There was not too much importer outflow, oil (bills) were also not seen,” said a stockbroker. However, the rupee is expected to fall in the absence of any intervention by the Central Bank, dealers said. The Central Bank said on Monday that inflows of $1 billion from a recent sovereign bond sale would be kept in reserves, contrary to market expectations. The Central Bank had said on 2 January it expected the rupee to strengthen in the medium term and any direct intervention in the foreign exchange market would be minimum. The rupee has gained about 3.4% since it hit a record low of 135.20 on 28 August. It lost 2.5% in 2013.