The Hindu Business Line : Rupee ends lower; bonds unchanged

MUMBAI: The rupee ended four paise lower from the previous close against the US dollar on Tuesday, due to oil- related buying. Other Asian currencies were also slightly weak against the dollar, especially the yen. This factor may have also fuelled dollar buying, said a dealer at a private bank.

The domestic currency opened at 44.38 and ended the day at 44.4250 against Monday's level of 44.37.

The forward premia market was flat, with the six-month premium closing at 2.5 per cent (2.45 per cent) and the one-year closing at 1.95 per cent (1.92 per cent).

Bond prices opened firm, but lost the gains made in the first session due to fears of liquidity tightness and the statements made by the Finance Minister about inflation still being a big concern.

According to a bond dealer, the negatives for the bond market were the statements made by the Finance Minister to the effect that the Government's priority would be to keep inflation under check and that the Government would borrow in March. That is why bond prices ended at the same level as Monday though the Rs 5,000-crore auction was cancelled.

The 8.07 per cent 11-year 2017 paper opened at Rs 105.6 (7.31 per cent YTM), touched a high of Rs 105.65, a low of Rs 105.39 and ended at Rs 105.44 (7.33 per cent YTM) against the previous close of Rs 105.39 (7.34 per cent YTM).

The 7.4 per cent 29-year 2035 paper opened at Rs 97.95 (7.57 per cent YTM) and closed at Rs 97.66 (7.59 per cent YTM) against the earlier close of Rs 97.61 (7.6 per cent YTM).

Call rates were between 7-7.10 per cent (7.15-7 per cent). In the first one-day auction, the RBI did not receive any bids in the repo auction, but received and accepted 29 bids for Rs 18,320 crore in reverse repo.

In the second auction, it received and accepted two bids for Rs 30 crore and six bids for Rs 1,780 crore.

In the CBLO market, there were 327 trades for Rs 21,399.3 crore in the 6.43-6.55 per cent.