The Hindu Business Line : Rupee extends loss; securities weaken

Although the rupee traded in a range of 45.26 to 45.32, buying was observed on behalf of oil companies, among which Indian Oil Corporation was an active buyer, said a forex analyst.

Foreign banks were also actively buying towards the fag end of the trading hours. Among PSU banks, SBI and Canara Bank, were active buyers, said forex dealers.

The rupee touched an intra-day high of 45.26 with the low being 45.3750 at which level a lot of banks and corporates were seen selling.

Forwards were corporate driven with low volumes witnessed. The six-month forward closed at - 0.62 per cent (- 0.70 per cent), and the one-year forward closed at - 0.24 per cent (-0.35 per cent).

Bond markets clocked low volumes of Rs 2,600 crore while prices opened higher and fell by 10-20 paise during the day. The actively traded securities fell. The 8.07 per cent 2017 paper opened at Rs 123.28, went as low as Rs 123.12, and closed at Rs 123.14. .

The 7.46 per cent 2017 paper opened at Rs 118.18 and ended 18 paise lower. The 7.37 per cent 2014 paper opened at Rs 116.80 and fell to Rs 116.72.

Call rates closed at 4.20 per cent.

In the seven-day repo under the LAF, the RBI accepted excess funds of over Rs 13,000 crore through 37 bids at the repo rate of 4.50 per cent.