The Hindu Business Line : Rupee declines; securities weak

MUMBAI: In a volatile foreign exchange market, the rupee halted its rise to close lower at 43.71/73 against the dollar on Tuesday, nearly eight paise below its previous close at 43.6350/6450.

Foreign banks were actively purchasing dollars In the early trading hours. A large corporate was also mopping up greenbacks, dealers said.

The rupee touched an intra-day low of 43.81 per dollar.

Sentiment on the home currency continues to be upbeat with dealers expecting 43.60 levels on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the annualised forward premia rose marginally as the six-month forward closed at 1.55 per cent (1.53 per cent) and the twelve-month forward premium finished at 1.10 per cent (1.07 per cent).

Bond prices ended lower by nearly 10 to 15 paise, in a lacklustre market, which did not witness much buying interest, dealers said.

Concerns over the Rs 4,000-crore State loan and treasury bills auctions scheduled for Wednesday kept buying interest at bay, dealers said.

The benchmark 7.38 per cent 2015 paper ended 12 paise lower than previous close at Rs 104.80 at an yield of 6.75 per cent. The 7.55 per cent 2010 paper closed 15 paise lower than previous levels at Rs 104.90 at an yield of 6.47 per cent.

Call rates ended lower amid ample liquidity in the system, trading in the range of 4-4.70 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India received and accepted 50 bids aggregating Rs 23,555 crore in the one-day reverse repo.

In the CBLO market, 125 trades worth Rs 5,316.25 crore were transacted in the rate range of 3-4.75 per cent.