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The rupee softened on Thursday by two paise to close at 44.72/73 against the US currency on weakness in equities amid stray dollar demand from importers despite weak dollar overseas amid capital inflows.
After moving in a narrow breadth, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex eased further by 9.39 points or 0.05 per cent to 18,385. Some dollar demand from importers too weighed on the rupee, dealers said.
In New York yesterday, the dollar rose against the euro and other major currencies after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated there would not be a further round of quantitative easing.
Meanwhile, New York oil was trading above $101 a barrel in European market.
Alpari Forex (India) CEO Mr Pramit Brahmbhatt said: “Rupee after the intraday low erased all the gains and depreciated as Euro weakened against the greenback. Today ECB’s rate decision will help the major currencies to find its way“.
“Expect USD/INR pair to touch 45.00 in coming days and the trading range for the USD/INR tomorrow will be 44.60 to 45.10,” he added.
In lacklustre trading at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit opened just stable at 44.71/72 a dollar from previous close of 44.70/71.
Later, it moved in a limited range of 44.64 and 44.7650 before concluding at 44.72/73. The dollar index of six major currencies was down by a mere 0.02 per cent.
The rupee premium for the forward dollar settled higher on fresh paying pressure from banks and corporates. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in November closed up at 133-1/2-135-1/2 from 128-130 paise yesterday.
Far-forward contracts maturing in May also finished higher at 245-1/2-247-1/2 paise from 240-242 paise previously.
The RBI has fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs 44.72 and the euro at Rs 65.38.
The rupee fell back against the pound sterling to end at Rs 73.46/48 from Wednesday’s close of Rs 73.21/23 while it rose further to Rs 65.34/36 per euro from Rs 65.42/44 previously.
It also improved against the Japanese yen to Rs 55.88/90 per 100 yen from last close of Rs 56.04/08
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