The Hindu Business Line : Rupee down 3 paise; securities decline

MUMBAI: The rupee closed three paise weaker on Tuesday at 45.38/39 against the dollar. The domestic currency lost nearly 20 paise on Monday and closed at 45.3/36.

Public sector banks, foreign and private sector banks were actively selling dollars in the early hours of the trade.

In the afternoon deals, all players started buying the greenback. The demand from several oil corporates including IOC is said to be behind the buying spree.

The forwards market saw cautious covering by the exporters. The six-month forward closed at 0.44 per cent (0.55 per cent) and the twelve-month forward closed at 0.43 per cent (0.51 per cent).

The bond markets witnessed a decline of about 50 paise to 60 paise across maturities. The concerns regarding fears of jumps in the US consumer price index data, uncertain direction of interest rates, oil price hike and impending budget contributed to the negative sentiment, say dealers.

The benchmark 8.07 per cent 2017 paper opened at Rs 120 at YTM 5.80 per cent and closed at Rs 119.50 with YTM 5.86 per cent. Dealers on Tuesday feared an impending 50 basis points hike in the Fed rates on the back of inflation numbers.

The call rates were soft in the range of 4.25 to 4.50 with deals mainly struck at 4.40 levels.

In the LAF window, the RBI received and accepted 45 bids worth Rs 13,335 crore at the repo rate of 4.50 per cent.