The Hindu Business Line : Rupee steady; gilts move up

MUMBAI: The rupee closed at 45.2875/2975 in its value against the dollar comparable to Tuesday's close of 45.29/30 in its value against the dollar.

The rupee opened at Tuesday's closing leve,l touched an intra-day high of 45.28 and an intra-day low of 45.3250. In the spot market, there were fresh supplies of the dollar amidst subdued demand for it.

In the forward market there was little trading and premia closed almost unchanged. The six months forward closed at 0.93 per cent (0.90 per cent) and the one-year forward closed at 0.78 per cent (0.75 per cent).

G-Secs rally continued with an upward movement of 30 paise. On Tuesday, it gained 50-60 paise following the presentation of interim Budget by the Finance Minister.

The rally was triggered with Tuesday's late evening announcement of cancellation of Rs 5,000 crore Central Government auction, said the chief dealer in a bond house. This had been the last auction of this fiscal.

Some indicative papers were the 8.07 per cent 2017 paper, which closed at Rs 123.55, up from Tuesday's close of Rs 123.25. The 10-year benchmark, 7.37 per cent 2014 paper closed at Rs 117.30 with a corresponding yield of 5.17 per cent. On Tuesday, it ended at Rs 117.

While liquidity was aplenty in the inter-bank call money market with rates reining below 4.5 per cent, funds worth close to Rs 45,000 crore were accepted through the LAF window at the repo rate of 4.5 per cent.