Rupee stays firm at 63.38 ahead of Fed meet

Our Bureau Updated - March 12, 2018 at 06:47 PM.

rupee

The rupee ended almost flat at 63.38 against the dollar on Wednesday, hours before the US Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, addresses a press conference which might see steps being announced to end the fiscal stimulus programme that has so far helped emerging markets like India.

The rupee was seen trading in a narrow range in intraday trade, as the markets were cautious ahead of the second day of the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting in the United States.

It opened a tad lower at 63.45 from previous close of 63.39. The rupee was trading in narrow range between a high of 63.05 and a low of 63.46, during the entire day.

The FOMC meeting is expected to culminate late today with a possible announcement on tapering of the monthly $85 billion fiscal stimulus by the United States Federal Reserve.

According to experts, if the tapering is in excess of $15 billion per month, then the rupee could see a further decline tomorrow.

Call Rates flat; G-Sec yields soften

The interbank call money rates, the rates at which banks borrow from each other to meet their short-term fund requirements, closed flat from previous close at 10.25 per cent.

The 7.16 per cent government security, which matures in 2023, closed higher at Rs 92.06 from the previous close of Rs 91.64. Yields softened to 8.37 per cent from the previous close of 8.43 per cent.

>satyanarayan.iyer@thehindu.co.in

Published on September 18, 2013 09:53